树木

• Pinyin: shù mù
• Hanzi breakdown: 树 = 木 + 尌 (wood + upright — a tree; to plant); 木 = pictograph of a tree with roots and branches — wood; tree

Meaning

Trees; woody plants collectively; timber trees.

A general collective noun for trees, often used in environmental, forestry, urban planning, and botanical contexts. 保护树木 (to protect trees), 种植树木 (to plant trees). More formal and comprehensive than the everyday 树.

Examples

1. 城市绿化的重要指标是人均绿地和行道树木覆盖率，充足的树木还能缓解热岛并改善心理健康。 Key indicators of urban greening are green space per person and street tree coverage. Enough trees can also reduce the heat island effect and improve mental health.
2. 这片原始森林里有数百种千年树木，它们既是珍贵资源，也是气候变迁和生物多样性的见证。 This old-growth forest contains hundreds of species of thousand-year-old trees. They are both precious resources and witnesses to climate change and biodiversity.
3. 干旱区防护林能迅速增加树木，但若选种不当、养护不足，常会造成树木大量死亡，反而加剧荒漠化。 Shelterbelts in arid regions can quickly increase the number of trees, but if the species are chosen badly or maintenance is lacking, many trees may die and desertification can worsen.

Usage Guide

Context: environment, forestry, urban planning, ecology, botany

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 旧城改造应把保护大型树木纳入强制评估，因为成熟树木提供的生态价值，远非短期补种可替代。(Old-city redevelopment should include the protection of large trees in mandatory assessments, because the ecological value of mature trees cannot be replaced by replanting in the short term.)
• 气候变化正改变树木物候，许多温带树木的发芽和落叶时间都明显偏移，威胁依赖它们的野生动物。(Climate change is altering tree phenology. The budding and leaf-fall times of many temperate trees have shifted markedly, threatening the wildlife that depends on them.)

Don't Say

• 树木 when referring to a single specific tree — use 树 or 一棵树 for a single tree; 树木 is a collective noun referring to trees as a category or group, and using it to describe a single specimen sounds unnatural

Origin & History

树 (tree; to plant upright — 木 wood + 尌 upright) + 木 (wood; tree — a pictograph of a tree with roots and branches)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal