How to Write 榈 (lǘ) — Meaning “Palm tree”

Imagine a palm tree (木) growing right next to a village gate (闾). The gate helps you remember the sound "lǘ" because 闾 sounds like the start of "lǘ" in pinyin. This visual link connects the tree shape with the specific palm species.

Write the left radical 木 first: horizontal stroke, vertical, left-falling, right-falling. Then write the right side 闾: first the door radical 门 (dot, vertical, horizontal hook, vertical), followed by 吕 (two small squares stacked). A common mistake is making the door too wide or forgetting the hook inside 门, so keep the right side balanced and slightly taller than the left.

The key difference is the right component: 榈 has 闾 (a gate with two mouths), 桫 has 沙 (sand), and 桲 has 孛 (a sprout). In meaning, 榈 refers specifically to palm trees, while 桫 is used in 桫椤 (a tree fern) and 桲 appears in words like 桲椤 (a type of tree or tool). Visually, 闾 has a clear door shape, which helps you identify 榈.

榈 is almost always used in the compound 棕榈 (zōng lǘ, palm tree), plus derived words like 棕榈油 (palm oil) and 棕榈叶 (palm leaf). Palm trees are culturally associated with tropical regions and are sources of cooking oil, thatch, and ornamental plants. Although 榈 is not in the HSK list, you may see it in botanical or geographical texts discussing palm species.

Common words containing 榈 include: 棕榈 (zōng lǘ) — palm tree; 棕榈油 (zōng lǘ yóu) — palm oil; 棕榈叶 (zōng lǘ yè) — palm leaf.