椰 (yē) · coconut palm

Meanings

1 coconut palm

Characters

椰

yē

coconut palm

Examples

HSK 5

我喜欢喝椰汁。

Wǒ xǐhuan hē yēzhī.

I like drinking coconut juice.

HSK 6

海南岛到处都是椰树。

Hǎinán dǎo dàochù dōu shì yēshù.

Hainan Island is full of coconut palm trees.

Tips

usage

椰 is a bound form and doesn't appear alone in modern Chinese. Common compounds: 椰子 (coconut), 椰树 (coconut palm), 椰奶 (coconut milk), 椰汁 (coconut juice).

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left-side tree radical, depicting a tree with roots and branches. Anchors 椰 as a tree species, the coconut palm. The radical drops it neatly into the botanical family with 杨 (poplar), 柳 (willow), 桃 (peach), 棕 (palm). Tropical-tree chars almost all take this radical.

phonetic

耶 yē

interjection particle

Right side 耶 supplies the sound - exact yē. Originally an ear-and-city character used as a classical question particle. In 椰 it is pure phonetic. The same yē reading anchors 耶稣 (Jesus) and 椰子 (coconut).