桐 (tóng) is a Chinese character meaning “name of several trees: tung tree (oil tree), paulownia, and”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 同 (same; together), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “tung tree; parasol tree”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 同
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（桐，荣也。从木，同聲）；并经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分解核验：笔画 0–3 为「木」，笔画 4–9 与「同」六笔逐笔对应（4+6=10画），⿰木同
Memory aid
A tree (木) that grows the same (同) wherever you plant it — the tung and parasol trees lining old Chinese streets all look alike.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 梧桐wú tóngChinese parasol tree桐 = tóng
- 桐油tóng yóutung oil桐 = tóng
- 泡桐pāo tóngpaulownia (tree)桐 = tóng
Go deeper
All readings
tung tree; paulownia; parasol tree
name of several trees: tung tree (oil tree), paulownia, and Chinese parasol tree (梧桐)
树名，泛指油桐、泡桐、梧桐等树木。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 梧桐wú tóngChinese parasol tree桐 = tóng
- 桐油tóng yóutung oil桐 = tóng
- 泡桐pāo tóngpaulownia (tree)桐 = tóng
Sound component
同 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 桐 mean?
桐 (tóng) means name of several trees: tung tree (oil tree), paulownia, and Chinese parasol tree (梧桐).
How do you pronounce 桐?
It is pronounced tóng.
What parts is 桐 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 同 (same; together), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（桐，荣也。从木，同聲）；并经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分解核验：笔画 0–3 为「木」，笔画 4–9 与「同」六笔逐笔对应（4+6=10画），⿰木同. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 桐 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 桐?
木. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 桐?
Common ones are 梧桐, 桐油, 泡桐. The reading of 桐 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.