桌 is a Chinese character with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
桌 is a late character with no oracle bone or bronze form. It is a phono-semantic compound with 木 (wood) as the semantic component at the bottom and 卓 (zhuó, tall or outstanding) as the phonetic on top. 卓 itself depicts a person standing above others, suggesting height, which fits a raised piece of furniture.
Form evolution
The character stabilised only in the Tang and Song dynasties, as high tables replaced the earlier low 几 used when people sat on mats. Early forms sometimes wrote it as 槕 or 棹, and the standard 桌 with 卓 over 木 became fixed in printed editions from the Ming onward. The modern form is identical in simplified and traditional scripts.
How the meaning evolved
The meaning has been stable since the character was coined: a tall wooden table. Earlier Chinese furniture culture used 几 (a low armrest-height table) because people knelt or sat on the floor, so 桌 only became necessary once chairs and raised tables entered ordinary life around the Tang dynasty. Modern usage covers any table: 桌子 (table), 书桌 (desk), 餐桌 (dining table).
Cultural note
The shift from 几 to 桌 tracks one of the biggest material culture changes in Chinese history, the move from floor-sitting to chair-sitting that took roughly the 3rd to 10th centuries. A 圆桌 (round table) carries the same 'equal seating' connotation it does in English, and 同桌 means a classmate who shares your desk, a word every Chinese student knows.
Basic info
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #1040 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 桌
On the new HSK 1 exam
Studying for HSK 1? Keep 桌 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.