Example sentences
zhuō桌zi子shàng上yǒu有bēi杯zi子。
There's a cup on the table.
zhuō桌zi子cā擦gàn干jìng净le了。
The table is wiped clean.
About this word
桌 is a table and 子 is the same noun suffix you see in 椅子 and 杯子, so 桌子 is "table" with a shape-giving ending. The 子 stays neutral: zhuō zi. 桌 also appears at the front of other words: 书桌 (desk), 饭桌 (dining table), 课桌 (school desk). The measure word is 张, the one used for flat surfaces: 一张桌子. Around the house you will hear 桌子上 and 桌子下 constantly.
The story behind the character
桌
桌 is a variant of 卓 (tall) with a 木 (wood) base added. It meant "tall," then the tall table. As opposed to the low 案. So a desk was once just "the tall one."
子
子 is a newborn drawn from life. Big head, arms stretched out, legs swaddled together. The oldest forms are exactly that, and Xu Shen simply marked it 象形, a picture. It is also the first of the twelve earthly branches, the one paired with the rat, which is why the character shows up on old calendars and in the zodiac.