Definitions

chú (noun) wardrobe; cabinet; closet

Etymology

A wooden  cabinet  also provides the pronunciation

About

The character for "cabinet" or "closet", now commonly written as "橱" in its simplified form, developed from its traditional counterpart "櫥". This traditional form is a semantic-phonetic compound, combining the wood radical (木) on the left to denote its common material and function as a wooden object, with "廚" ("chú", kitchen) on the right, which primarily provides phonetic indication but also contributes semantic context. The core meaning relates to furniture for storage, and its specific association with the kitchen component suggests its early application likely pertained to kitchen cabinetry or storage. Over time, its use generalized to encompass various types of cabinets and wardrobes, while the simplified form "橱" altered the phonetic component from "廚" to "厨", a variant with the same pronunciation, thus streamlining the character while retaining its original sound and core meaning tied to storage furniture.

Example Sentences Hide

我的衣很大。

Wǒ de yīchú hěn dà.

My wardrobe is very big.

妈妈整理了她的衣

Māma zhěnglǐ le tā de yīchú.

Mom organized her wardrobe.

里有很多书。

Shūchú lǐ yǒu hěn duō shū.

There are many books in the bookcase.

他把衣服放在柜里。

Tā bǎ yīfu fàng zài chúguì lǐ.

He put the clothes in the cabinet.

这个厨房的柜是白色的。

Zhège chúfáng de chúguì shì báisè de.

The kitchen cabinets are white.

为了防止虫子,她在里放了樟脑丸。

Wèile fángzhǐ chóngzi, tā zài chú lǐ fàng le zhāngnǎowán.

To prevent insects, she put mothballs in the cabinet.

由于柜的门坏了,我们不得不请人来修理。

Yóuyú chúguì de mén huài le, wǒmen bùdébù qǐng rén lái xiūlǐ.

Because the cabinet door is broken, we had to ask someone to repair it.

在设计新家时,她特别注重柜的材质和布局。

Zài shèjì xīn jiā shí, tā tèbié zhùzhòng chúguì de cáizhì hé bùjú.

When designing the new home, she paid special attention to the material and layout of the cabinets.