楚 chǔ — thorny bush; Chu · English

楚

chǔ

thorny bush; Chu

At a glance · 楚

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从林疋声，形声字，本指丛生的灌木荆楚。隶楷作「楚」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「楚」本指荆棘类灌木，引申为痛苦、楚地。

Structure

形声字，林为意符，疋为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinchǔ

Radical木

Strokes13

UnicodeU+695A

Character type形声

Theme植物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English thorny bush; Chu A thorny bush; the Chu state; sorrow.

Français buisson épineux; Chu Un buisson épineux; l'état de Chu; douleur.

Español arbusto espinoso; Chu Un arbusto espinoso; el estado Chu; dolor.

العربية شجيرة شائكة؛ تشو شجيرة أو ولاية تشو أو ألم.

Русский колючий куст; Чу Колючий куст; царство Чу; скорбь.

Common words

楚chǔChu
清楚qīng chǔclear

◉ Listen