橘 (jú) · mandarin orange; tangerine

Measure Word

一个橘 gè

Meanings

1 mandarin orange; tangerine

Characters

橘

jú

mandarin orange; tangerine

Examples

HSK 3

这个橘子真甜。

Zhège júzi zhēn tián.

This tangerine is really sweet.

HSK 7-9

橘生淮南则为橘，生于淮北则为枳。

Jú shēng Huáinán zé wéi jú, shēng yú Huáiběi zé wéi zhǐ.

Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges; grown north they become bitter citrus.

Tips

culture

The classical saying 橘生淮南则为橘 illustrates how environment shapes outcomes - a well-known metaphor in Chinese literature.

usage

橘 and 桔 are often interchangeable in modern usage. 橘子 is the standard spoken form for tangerine.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

木 is the indexing tree radical - a horizontal-and-vertical drawing of a trunk with branches above and roots below. It places 橘 (mandarin orange) firmly in the fruit-tree family alongside 桃 (peach), 李 (plum), 梨 (pear), 柚 (pomelo). The radical signals: this names a tree, not just the fruit.

phonetic

矞 yù

auger through; rainbow

矞 (yù) supplies the sound on the right - initial drifted from y- to j- but the rime preserved. A rare standalone meaning to bore through with an awl, but in modern Chinese matters mainly as the phonetic anchor for 橘 and 谲 (deceitful). Carries no semantic flavour here.