duǒ
classifier HSK 5 #4,833

Meanings

  1. 1 classifier for flowers, clouds, and similar things

Examples

Huāyuánlǐ yǒu yī duǒ piàoliang de méiguihuā.
There's a beautiful rose in the garden.
Tiānshàng piāo zhe jǐ duǒ báiyún.
A few white clouds drifted across the sky.
Tā sònggěi tā yī duǒ huā.
He gave her a flower.

Tips

usage
is mainly used for flowers () and clouds (). It evokes something soft, delicate, and blooming.
memory
looks a bit like a flower on a stem — the top part is the blossom, the bottom part is like the stalk.

Components

radical
tree; wood
Bottom tree radical — the indexing radical. Together with the curve above, pictures a tree bough drooping under the load of flowers or fruit, hence the original meaning 'cluster of blossoms hanging from a branch.' Today it is the standard measure word for flowers () and clouds ().
semantic
small table; how many
Top piece — historically a stylised drooping shape (a hanging cluster), not the standalone 'table' in meaning, just the same glyph. Pictures the bend of a branch under the weight of blossoms. Compound ideograph: weighed-down branch above, tree below.

Stroke Order

duǒ