tǒng
noun HSK 7-9 #3,720

Meanings

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

Examples

Tā tí le yì tǒng shuǐ.
He carried a bucket of water.
Lājītǒng zài ménkǒu.
The trash can is at the doorway.
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). also works as a measure word: (a bucket of water), (a barrel of oil).

Components

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

Stroke Order

tǒng