柏树
bǎi shù · HSK 7
tree
🌲 bǎi sounds like 'buy' — buy a tree, get a cypress
柏 (bǎi) means cypress or evergreen conifer. 树 (shù) means tree. Together they specify the cypress tree. The surname 柏 is also common, so think: the Bai family planted cypresses everywhere.
树 — wood 木 + 對 (phonetic, simplified to 对)
树 originally combined 木 'tree' with 尌, suggesting planting something upright. The right side served mainly as a phonetic clue, while 木 carried the meaning. Over time it came to mean both 'tree' and the verb 'to plant' or 'establish'.