muk6木

Jyutpingmuk6

Yalemuhk

語素Common

Definition

Tree; wood or timber.

colloquialnature

How it's used

While 木 refers to the material wood or the element, it is rarely used on its own in spoken Cantonese to mean a living tree. Instead, speakers almost always use 樹 or the combination 樹木 when referring to the plant itself. Using 木 alone to describe a tree can sound slightly poetic or like a direct translation from written Chinese.

Measure word

fo2棵fó

Examples

mun4門hau2口go2嗰muk6木hou2好daai6大aa4呀。

That tree by the door is huge.

nei5你gin3見m4唔gin3見dou3到go2嗰bin1邊jau5有muk6木？

Do you see a tree over there?

Common phrases

muk6木tau4頭

wood block or piece of wood

muk6木baan2板

wooden board

Common mistake

Learners often use 木 to mean tree in everyday speech, but it sounds unnatural because it primarily denotes the substance wood. Always use 樹 for the living plant.