桶

Refers to a wooden vessel made from planks bound by hoops, used to hold liquids or grains — such as a bucket, barrel, or tub.

By extension, it can describe any cylindrical container, whether wooden or metal.

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

木 (나무 목) — semantic component, indicating that the object is made of wood.

甬 (종꼭지 용) — phonetic component, giving the sound tong and implying something narrow, round, or tubular.

Thus, 桶 literally means “a wooden cylindrical vessel.”

The character belongs to the same semantic family as 筒 (통) — another word meaning “tube” or “cylinder,” but composed of 竹 (bamboo) instead of 木 (wood).

While 筒 typically refers to hollow, tubular objects (pipes, scroll cases, etc.), 桶 designates solid wooden containers, often larger and used for storage or carrying.

Thus, 桶 emphasizes holding (to contain), while 筒 emphasizes passing through (to channel).

水桶 (수통) — water bucket; canteen

木桶 (목통) — wooden tub; barrel

浴桶 (욕통) — bath tub (wooden)

油桶 (유통) — oil drum; container for liquid fuel

酒桶 (주통) — wine cask; sake barrel

冰桶 (빙통) — ice bucket

糞桶 (분통) — waste bucket; chamber pot (lit. “excrement tub”)

桶狀 (통상) — barrel-shaped; cylindrical

In ancient China, 桶 was a common household and ritual vessel — used for fetching water, storing wine, and washing grain or silk.

The wooden staves were bound by bamboo or metal hoops, embodying the craftsman’s skill and harmony of materials.

Because it stores or carries essentials (water, wine, food), 桶 symbolically represents containment, preservation, and utility.

It was also part of idiomatic expressions implying moderation or capacity:

「滿桶不響，半桶咣噹。」

“A full bucket makes no noise; a half bucket clatters.”

— proverb meaning the truly wise are modest; the ignorant boast.

In everyday Chinese and Korean culture, 桶 retains a humble but practical significance — the vessel that contains and sustains.

Though simple and utilitarian, 桶 embodies an ancient ideal: to hold and preserve what sustains life.

It stands for humility, service, and usefulness — a reminder that the vessel can be as important as what it contains.

「器滿則溢，桶滿則傾。」

“When a vessel is full, it overflows; when a bucket is full, it tips.”

A lesson not only in balance, but in the virtue of measure and modesty.