橼 (yuán) · citron

Meanings

HSK 7-9

枸橼又叫香橼，果皮厚而芳香，可入药。

Jǔyuán yòu jiào xiāngyuán, guǒpí hòu ér fāngxiāng, kě rùyào.

The citron, also called xiangyuan, has a thick fragrant rind used in medicine.

history

橼 is not used on its own; it occurs only in the fruit names 枸橼 and 香橼 (citron). It joins the tree radical 木 with the phonetic 缘 (traditional 緣).

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

The tree radical 木 on the left marks this as a tree or its fruit - here the citron tree.

phonetic

缘 yuán

edge; affinity

Supplies the sound, matching the yuán reading. The simplified 缘 (traditional 緣) is purely phonetic here.

橼 yuán