桶

tǒng
noun HSK 4 #3,720

Meanings

  1. 1 bucket; barrel; pail
  2. 2 measure word for barrel/bucket-fuls

Examples

HSK 4
Tā tí le yì tǒng shuǐ.
He carried a bucket of water.
HSK 4
Lājītǒng zài ménkǒu.
The trash can is at the doorway.
HSK 7-9
Guójì yóujià shì àn tǒng jìsuàn de.
International oil prices are calculated per barrel.

Tips

usage
Common compounds: 水桶 (water bucket), 垃圾桶 (trash can), 油桶 (oil drum/barrel), 马桶 (toilet). 桶 also works as a measure word: 一桶水 (a bucket of water), 一桶油 (a barrel of oil).

Components

radical
木 mù
tree; wood
Left tree radical - indexing radical for 桶. Buckets and barrels were traditionally built from wooden staves bound with iron hoops, so the wood classification is literal. Same wood-radical family as 板 (plank), 柱 (pillar), 桥 (bridge), 椅 (chair) - all built artifacts. Marks 桶 as carpentry.
phonetic
甬 yǒng
path; tubular shape
Right phonetic 甬 - supplies the sound (yǒng → tǒng, with initial shift; same phonetic series gives 通 tōng, 痛 tòng, 涌 yǒng). Itself a graphic of a hollow tubular vessel or a bell with handle. Adds a pleasing semantic echo - 甬's tubular shape matches the cylindrical body of a bucket, so phonetic and meaning quietly reinforce each other.

Stroke Order

桶 tǒng