束
shù · HSK 3
bundle
🎋 shù sounds like 'shoe'; tie a shoe to bind a bundle
束 depicts 木 (tree) with 口 wrapped around its middle — a tree trunk tied with a band, giving the senses bind/bunch/bundle. Sound hook: shù ≈ English 'shoe', and shoelaces bind things together.
束 — 木 (tree) with 口 wrapped around middle
Pictograph of a bundle: a tree or sticks (木) tied together with a band or rope (depicted by the enclosing 口 in the middle). The original sense was 'to bind' or 'a bundle,' which extended to meanings like 'to restrain,' 'to control,' and the measure word for bundled things.