How to Write 椿 (chūn) — Meaning “Chinese toon”

Imagine a tree (木) in spring (春) that gives you delicious sprouts. That combination forms 椿, the Chinese toon tree. Visualizing the tree budding in spring will help you recall both the shape and the meaning.

The right part 春 has three horizontal strokes in the top section; make sure the middle stroke is the shortest. Also keep the 木 radical narrower on the left so the whole character stays balanced. A common mistake is writing the 木 too wide, making the character lopsided.

桫 (suō) refers to a type of fern tree (tree fern) and has a right part resembling 沙, while 桲 (bō) is part of the word 榅桲 (quince) and has the component 孛. 椿 uses 春 as its right part, making it unique both in meaning (Chinese toon) and in visual appearance.

椿 appears mostly in the word 香椿 (xiāng chūn), which refers to the Chinese toon tree, and its young leaves are a popular spring vegetable in Chinese cuisine. You will also see it in 椿芽 (chūn yá), the edible sprouts, and 椿树 (chūn shù), simply meaning the tree itself. It is not an HSK character but is common in food and gardening contexts.

Common words containing 椿 include: 香椿 (xiāng chūn) — Chinese toon; 椿芽 (chūn yá) — Chinese toon sprouts; 椿树 (chūn shù) — Chinese toon tree.