How to Write 椋 (liáng) — Meaning “Starling / Dogwood”

Imagine a starling bird (椋鸟) sitting on a wooden tree (木) in the capital city (京). The bird chirps "liáng" as it rests on the branch. This visual links the wood radical, the phonetic symbol, and the bird meaning together.

Write the left radical 木 with a narrow shape, and ensure the right part 京 is slightly wider. The bottom horizontal stroke of 京 should extend a little to the left under the 木, but not too far. Avoid writing the 木 too tall, which would make the character unbalanced.

椋 means starling or dogwood and has 木 plus 京, while 柴 (chái) means firewood and uses 木 plus 此, and 栓 (shuān) means a bolt or stopper using 木 plus 全. Visually, 椋 has the triangular top of 京, 柴 has a complex left side 此, and 栓 has a simpler right part 全. Their pronunciations and meanings are completely different.

椋 appears mostly in biological terms like 椋鸟 (starling) and in tree names such as 椋木 (dogwood). It is uncommon in daily conversation but may appear in ornithology texts or in botanical contexts. The character is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners may only encounter it in specialized reading.

Common words containing 椋 include: 椋鸟 (liáng niǎo) — Starling; 灰椋鸟 (huī liáng niǎo) — grey starling; 椋木 (liáng mù) — Dogwood.