榫 (sǔn): tenon (the projecting wooden pi…

Meanings

1 tenon (the projecting wooden piece in a mortise-and-tenon joint)

Characters

榫

sǔn

tenon

Examples

中国传统家具用榫卯结构，完全不用钉子。

Zhōngguó chuántǒng jiājù yòng sǔn mǎo jiégòu, wánquán bù yòng dīngzi.

Traditional Chinese furniture is assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints, using no nails at all.

这个榫头有点太粗，插不进去。

Zhège sǔntóu yǒudiǎn tài cū, chā bù jìnqù.

This tenon is a little too thick to fit into the slot.

Tips

culture

榫卯 sǔnmǎo (tenon-and-mortise) is the joinery system behind classical Chinese woodwork: the 榫 is the protruding tongue, the 卯 mǎo is the matching hole it slots into. Whole buildings and Ming-dynasty furniture hold together with no nails or glue.