How to Write 桢 (zhēn) — Meaning “Evergreen tree / Post”

Imagine a "true" (贞) evergreen tree (木) that stands tall and straight like a pillar. The right part 贞 sounds like "zhen" which can remind you of "zen" – picture a calm, strong tree that stays green forever.

Write the left radical 木 first ( horizontal line, vertical, left stroke, right stroke ), then the right side 贞 starting with the top 亠 (dot and horizontal). A common mistake is making the right part too wide – keep 贞 narrow so the whole character is balanced.

Both use 木 and have 10 strokes, but 桢 has 贞 on the right while 杭 has 亢 (kàng). 桢 refers to an evergreen tree or a mainstay, whereas 杭 is used for Hangzhou (city) or a boat (as in 杭船). Visually, the right side of 杭 has more open space than the more compact 贞.

桢 appears mainly in botanical terms like 桢楠 (a precious tree) and in formal words like 桢干 (meaning mainstay or pillar, often used metaphorically for a key person). It is not common in daily conversation, but you may encounter it in forestry or classical literature.

Common words containing 桢 include: 桢楠 (zhēn nán) — Zhennan (a precious species of Phoebe tree); 桢木 (zhēn mù) — Zhenmu (a type of hard evergreen wood); 桢干 (zhēn gàn) — Mainstay / Pillar.