Origin

The character combines the radical for tree (木) on the left with a sound component (支) on the right. The tree radical makes sense because branches are parts of trees. The right component is mainly there to suggest how the character should be pronounced, rather than to add meaning. Together, the visual of a tree with this phonetic hint creates the character for branch or bough — the smaller woody parts that grow from a tree's trunk.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).