How to Write 檫 (chá) — Meaning “sassafras”

Imagine a sassafras tree (木) that is so special you need to carefully examine (察) its leaves and bark. The right side 察 looks like a roof (宀) over a sacrifice (祭), so picture a tree under a roof where you examine offerings. This visual link can help you recall both the shape and the sound "cha".

The left radical 木 must be narrow and written with the standard 4 strokes: horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling. The right side 察 has 14 strokes; pay special attention to the bottom part which is 示 (show) with a small dot, not 衣 (clothing). Make sure the whole character is balanced, with the right side not too wide.

檫 (chá) means sassafras tree, while 樨 (xī) means osmanthus tree and 樵 (qiáo) means firewood or a woodcutter. Visually, 檫 has 察 on the right, 樨 has 西, and 樵 has 焦. The meanings are also very different: 檫 is a specific tree, 樨 is another tree (osmanthus), and 樵 relates to cutting wood.

You will mostly encounter 檫 in botanical or forestry contexts, such as the species name 檫树 (sassafras tree) or 檫木 (sassafras wood). It is not a common character in everyday life and not in the HSK vocabulary, so you might see it in nature guides or traditional medicine references. Culturally, sassafras wood has been used in Chinese furniture and crafts for its light weight and fragrance.

Common words containing 檫 include: 檫树 (chá shù) — sassafras tree; 檫木 (chá mù) — sassafras wood; 檫子 (chá zi) — sassafras tree.