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枳

zhǐ
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 trifoliate orange (a thorny citrus)
  2. 2 hedge thorn

Examples

橘生淮南则为橘，生淮北则为枳。
Jú shēng Huáinán zé wéi jú, shēng Huáiběi zé wéi zhǐ.
An orange grown south of the Huai is sweet; grown north of it, it becomes a bitter trifoliate orange.
村民种枳作为带刺的篱笆。
Cūnmín zhòng zhǐ zuòwéi dàicì de líba.
The villagers planted trifoliate orange as a thorny hedge.

Tips

culture
枳 is famous from the proverb 橘生淮南则为橘，生淮北则为枳 ('an orange south of the Huai becomes a bitter 枳 north of it'), a classic image for how environment changes a thing's nature.

Components

radical
木 mù
wood; tree
木 is the tree radical (left-side form). The trifoliate orange is a thorny tree, so the tree radical fixes the botanical meaning.
phonetic
只 zhī
phonetic
只 supplies the sound (zhī shifting to zhǐ). It contributes pronunciation only and no meaning here.

Stroke Order

枳 zhǐ