松 (sōng): loose; slack; relaxed

Meanings

1 loose; slack; relaxed
2 pine (tree)

Characters

松

sōng

pine tree; loose; to relax

Examples

这条裤子太松了。

Zhè tiáo kùzi tài sōng le.

These pants are too loose.

放松一下，别太紧张。

Fàngsōng yīxià, bié tài jǐnzhāng.

Relax a bit, don't be so nervous.

山上有很多松树。

Shānshang yǒu hěnduō sōngshù.

There are many pine trees on the mountain.

Tips

usage

As an adjective, 松 means loose (opposite of 紧, tight). As a noun, it means pine tree. 放松 = to relax.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left tree radical, the indexing component (Kangxi 75). Marks 松 as a tree species: the pine. Pines are evergreen and famously 'loose-needled' — open foliage rather than dense canopy. Same radical anchors 树 (tree), 林 (forest), 板 (board), 桌 (table).

phonetic

公 gōng

public; impartial

Right-side 公 supplies the sound: gōng shifts to sōng with a velar/sibilant drift. The 'public' meaning plays no role here — pure sound borrowing. Note 松 also conflated with traditional 鬆 (loose, slack) in simplification, so the modern character covers both 'pine tree' and 'loose / relaxed.'