木
mù
The desk, the cup and the bridge all started as one tree
The picture A single tree standing inside the character, roots in the ground and branches out to both sides. 木 is the tree rising out of the ground, 土 is the ground holding its roots.
Where the picture shows up in 木
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standing with roots down
门口有一棵大树。
ménkǒu yǒu yì kē dà shù
There's a big tree by the front gate.
A tree pushing up through the ground at the gate, branches spread wide
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wood cut into a flat board
请把菜放在桌子上。
qǐng bǎ cài fàng zài zhuōzi shàng
Please put the dishes on the table.
A wide plank resting on four legs, holding steady as a table
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wood hollowed into a vessel
请给我一杯热水。
qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi rè shuǐ
A cup of hot water, please.
The inside of a log scooped out until it fits in your hand as a cup
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wood laid across a gap
过了这座桥就到了。
guò le zhè zuò qiáo jiù dào le
Cross this bridge and we're there.
A log laid over the water to make a path to the other side
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a wooden frame that turns
我的手机没电了。
wǒ de shǒujī méi diàn le
My phone is out of battery.
A wooden frame fitted with an axle and wheels so it runs on its own
All of it in one picture
木 is one standing tree. Leave it as it is and it is a tree; cut it into a board on four legs and it is a desk. Hollow it out and it is a cup, lay it across water and it is a bridge, frame it and fit an axle and it is a machine that turns by itself. Where 木 appears, you see what the thing is made of before you know its name.