- 桂林（桂林, Guìlín) means "forest of sweet osmanthus" — a name that comes from the fragrant flowering trees planted throughout the city.
- The name breaks down into just two characters: 桂 (guì), the sweet osmanthus tree, and 林 (lín), forest or woods.
- 桂花（桂花, guìhuā) blooms in late summer and autumn, filling Guilin's streets with a scent that locals describe as impossible to miss.
- The flowers are dried and brewed into osmanthus tea (桂花茶, guìhuā chá), sold everywhere in Guilin — from tea shops to ordinary convenience stores.
The names of Chinese cities often reflect physical features of the place they're in. Guilin 桂林， 的家 CLI就是一个很明显的例子：它的名字意思是“桂花森林”。
The city is named after the countless osmanthus trees that line street after street in Guilin. Osmanthus is a fragrant flowering tree that blooms in autumn, and its off-white, yellow, and orange flowers 桂花 fill the air with a sweet perfume that puts just about everyone in a great mood.
下面，我们将逐字解读城市名称中的两个汉字，观察它背后的那棵树，并解释为什么花朵会出现在你的茶杯里。在此过程中，你还能学到一些有用的词汇。
01 桂林是什么意思？
桂林（桂林, Guìlín) means "forest of sweet osmanthus." It is a short name with a simple structure, which makes it a good one for learners to take apart.
角色分析
第一个字符， 桂 (guì), is the sweet osmanthus tree. The second, 林 (lín), means forest or woods.
第二个角色很好地说明了如何 中国文字 建立： 林 is simply the character for tree, 木 (mù), written twice. Two trees make a wood — and 森林 (sēnlín), the everyday word for forest, piles on a third.
The single character 桂 also stands in for Guangxi (广西, Guǎngxī), the autonomous region Guilin sits in, the way abbreviations shorten province names on license plates and in news headlines. According to our 桂林历史, the city was officially designated Guilin (桂林市, Guìlínshì) in 1940, though the name itself is far older.
小心 桂 in isolation. Historically the character has referred to 都 the sweet osmanthus and cassia — the aromatic bark sold as Chinese cinnamon, which today is written 肉桂 (ròuguì).
In the city's name and in 桂花, though, osmanthus is what's meant.
中文城市名称的运作方式
桂林在这里并非特例。许多中国城市名称都以简洁明了的方式描述地理位置、地标或当地特色。
中国 北京 means "Northern Capital." Hong Kong (Xianggang) 香港 means "Fragrant Port."
佛山 佛山 means "Buddha Mountain," a name the city has carried since 628 CE, when villagers reportedly 出土了三尊青铜佛像 在那边的山上。
一旦你开始注意到其中的规律，城市名称就变成了词汇练习，而不是需要记忆的随机音节。
02 Meet the Sweet Osmanthus (桂花)
桂花（Osmanthus fragrans）属于木樨科，因此英语有时称它为 sweet olive 或 tea olive。它是灌木或小乔木，通常高三至十二米。
这些花本身并不引人注目：小小的四瓣花簇簇开放，颜色从乳白色、淡黄色到橙色不等。它们在夏末秋初盛开，也正因如此，桂林的九月和十月才显得如此独特。
The scent is the whole point. It is sweet, slightly fruity, and strong enough that Chinese sometimes calls the plant 九里香 (jiǔ lǐ xiāng) — "fragrance for nine li——大约四公里半。
桂林花开正盛时节漫步其中，你会先闻到花香，然后才看到树木。这种感官上的体验，即使喀斯特山峰早已模糊成一片，依然会久久萦绕在人们心头。
如果你想体验桂林名副其实的美景，那就选择花季来游览吧。秋季本来就是游览桂林的好时节——比潮湿闷热的夏季凉爽，比春雨绵绵的春季更加清新——所以不妨看看我们的行程安排。 桂林旅游指南 在选择日期的时候。
03 桂花茶和其他地方风味
许多当地人会采摘桂花，然后晒干。晒干的桂花会被冲泡成香甜的桂花茶，可以单独饮用，也可以与其他饮品混合饮用。 中国茶.
桂花茶 桂花茶 is so popular in Guilin that you can even buy bags of it in convenience stores. Blends with green tea or black tea leaves are common, and the flowers turn up in bottled drinks and milk teas as well.
桂花的用途远不止泡茶。它可以加入蛋糕和甜汤中，浸泡在葡萄酒里，还可以熬制成浓稠的果酱，淋在甜点上。
但这并不意味着桂花是桂林唯一闻名的香料——这个称号可能属于…… 桂林米粉但你可以把鲜花带回家。
总之：如果你 游桂林，不要不品尝一杯与这座城市同名的酒就离开。
要求 我要一杯桂花茶 (wǒ yào yì bēi guìhuā chá) — "I'd like a cup of osmanthus tea." If you want the dried flowers to take home, 桂花 on its own is enough to get you pointed to the right shelf.
04 中国文化中的桂花
因为桂花在秋季开花，所以它与……联系在一起。 中秋节 进而，也与月亮有关。桂花酒和桂花糕是这个节日的传统食物。
Chinese mythology puts an osmanthus tree on the moon itself. In the legend of Wu Gang (吴刚), a man is banished there and set to chopping the tree down, only for it to heal after every stroke — an image of endless, futile effort.
The flower also carries a strong association with achievement. "Plucking osmanthus" (折桂, zhé guì) became a stock phrase for passing the imperial examinations, and it still turns up as a flourish for winning a top prize.
对学习者来说，这种层次感才是最有趣的地方。一个词可以同时指向一棵树、一种气味、一种节日美食、一个月亮传说，以及一个成功的比喻。
05 桂花和桂林相关词汇
以下词汇将帮助你谈论桂林的名字、桂林的树木和桂林的茶。
| 中文 | 拼音 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| 桂林 | 桂林（城市名；“桂花之林”） | |
| 桂花 | 桂花 | |
| 桂树 | 桂花树 | |
| 森林 | 森林 | |
| 树 | 树 | |
| 桂花茶 | 桂花茶 | |
| 桂花酒 | 桂花酒 | |
| 桂花糕 | 桂花蛋糕 | |
| 肉桂 | 桂皮；中国肉桂 | |
| 香 | 芬芳的；香甜的 | |
| 好香 | 闻起来真香 | |
| 开花 | 盛开；开花 | |
| 秋天 | 秋季；秋天 | |
| 中秋节 | 中秋节 | |
| 月亮 | 月亮 | |
| 折桂 | 摘桂花；赢得最高荣誉 | |
| 广西 | 广西壮族自治区 | |
| 桂林米粉 | 桂林米粉 | |
| 便利店 | 便利店 | |
| 北京 | 北京（“北方之都”） | |
| 香港 | 香港（“香港”） | |
| 佛山 | 佛山（“佛山”） |
06 亲自去桂林看看
对桂林还感兴趣吗？观看我们制作的这段视频，名为 桂林真美.
当然，名字只能带你走到这一步。 在中国学中文 and words like 桂花 stop being flashcard entries and start being something you can smell on the walk to class.
这就是在桂林学习的魅力所在：词汇就在街头巷尾，等着你去运用。