枢 (shū): (bound form) hinge, pivot (usu. fig.)

枢 (shū) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) hinge.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 区 (phonetic). It ranks #2502 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 枢 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 木 tree8 strokesFrequency #2502木 semantic 区 phonetic

Definitions

(bound form) hinge
pivot (usu. fig.)

Etymology & Origin

枢

pictophonetictree

Decomposition: ⿰木区 (layout: left-right)

Components:木semantic 区phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 枢 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
中枢	zhōng shū	center
枢纽	shū niǔ	hub (e.g. of traffic network)
枢机主教	shū jī zhǔ jiào	cardinal (of the Catholic Church)
中枢神经系统	zhōng shū shén jīng xì tǒng	central nervous system, CNS
流水不腐，户枢不蠹	liú shuǐ bù fǔ , hù shū bù dù	lit. flowing water does not rot, nor a door-hinge rust (idiom)
灵枢经	líng shū jīng	Lingshu Jing (Divine Pivot, or Spiritual Pivot), ancient Chinese medical text (c. 1st century BC)
交通枢纽	jiāo tōng shū niǔ	traffic hub
枢密院	shū mì yuàn	privy council
要枢	yào shū	important hub
户枢不蠹	hù shū bù dù	lit. a door hinge never becomes worm-eaten
天枢	tiān shū	Dubhe
枢机	shū jī	cardinal (Catholicism)
枢垣	shū yuán	censorate
枢轴	shū zhóu	pivot

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

枢 appears in 14 compound words: 43 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 36 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 枢 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

纽niǔ

0.85582,584 co-occurrences

互hù

0.4867,506 co-occurrences

密mì

0.48613,758 co-occurrences

交jiāo

0.46920,472 co-occurrences

铁tiě

0.4547,668 co-occurrences

通tōng

0.45023,376 co-occurrences

叭bā

0.429360 co-occurrences

机jī

0.4149,846 co-occurrences

轴zhóu

0.4081,182 co-occurrences

铭míng

0.382636 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

枢机主教shūjī zhǔjiàoHSK 7+

cardinal (official in Catholic Church)

noun

户枢不蠹hùshūbùdùHSK 7+

A door hinge never gets plagued by worms; a rolling stone gathers no moss

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

工人们正在砍伐病枢，防止虫害蔓延。

gōng rén men zhēng zài kǎn fá bìng shū , fáng zhǐ chóng hài mán yán .

Workers are cutting down diseased trees to prevent the spread of pests.

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

虹桥国际开放枢纽 5年增逾兆GDP

hóng qiáo guó jì kāi fàng shū niǔ 5 nián zēng yú zhào G D P

Hongqiao International Open Hub to Add Over 1 Trillion Yuan to GDP in Five Years

InvestingMar 2026

伊朗重创中东能源命门!全球LNG核心枢纽遭袭,欧盟恐面临长久性能源缺口

yī lǎng chóng chuàng zhōng dōng néng yuán mìng mén ! quán qiú L N G hé xīn shū niǔ zāo xí , ōu méng kǒng miàn lín cháng jiǔ xìng néng yuán quē kǒu

Iran Strikes at the Heart of the Middle East’s Energy Supply! Attack on Global LNG Hub Leaves EU Facing Potential Long-Term Energy Shortage

99 健康网Mar 2026

男人勃不起是什么原因引起的呢?酗酒抑制中枢神经系统功能吗

nán rén bó bù qǐ shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ne ? xù jiǔ yì zhì zhōng shū shén jīng xì tǒng gōng néng ma

What causes men to have an erection? Does alcohol inhibit central nervous system function?

Hk01.comMar 2026

...花旗..若中东金融中心遭打击增港星安全枢纽吸引力

. . . huā qí . . ruò zhōng dōng jīn róng zhōng xīn zāo dǎ jī zēng gǎng xīng ān quán shū niǔ xī yǐn lì

... Citigroup: If the financial center of the Middle East is hit, it will increase the attractiveness of the Hong Kong Star security hub

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

杜拜等中东枢纽停摆全球航班陷数年最严重乱象

dù bài děng zhōng dōng shū niǔ tíng bǎi quán qiú háng bān xiàn shǔ nián zuì yán chóng luàn xiàng

Dubai and other Middle Eastern hubs are suspended, and global flights are trapped in the worst chaos in years

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 枢 (shū) mean in Chinese?

枢 (shū) primarily means "(bound form) hinge." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2502 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 枢 and 驱?

枢 (shū) and 驱 (qū) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 木 vs 马 (same 区 component).

How many strokes does 枢 have?

枢 is written with 8 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 枢?

The radical associated with 枢 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.

What are the components of 枢?

枢 is composed of: 木 (semantic), 区 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木区 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 枢?

Common words with 枢 include: 中枢 (zhōng shū, "center"); 枢纽 (shū niǔ, "hub (e.g. of traffic network)"); 枢机主教 (shū jī zhǔ jiào, "cardinal (of the Catholic Church)"); 中枢神经系统 (zhōng shū shén jīng xì tǒng, "central nervous system, CNS"); 流水不腐，户枢不蠹 (liú shuǐ bù fǔ , hù shū bù dù, "lit. flowing water does not rot, nor a door-hinge rust (idiom)"). There are over 14 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 枢 (shū)?

Several characters share the pronunciation shū: 书 (abbr. for 書經|书经), 叔 (uncle), 舒 (to stretch), 输 (to transport, to lose). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 枢 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 枢 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 枢 with real-time feedback

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