Share this link via
Or copy link
One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Tree" are 木、樹、栃.
木
木 is both tree and wood. It is the living plant and the material cut from it — 木材 is timber, 木造 a wooden building — and it is also the element and the weekday 木曜日. Two strokes, read by everyone, but it will not read as a tree specifically.
樹 is the standing living tree, and only that. 樹木 is trees as growing things, 街路樹 the trees along a street, 大樹 a great tree. It carries a second sense of establishing or setting up, as in 樹立. Because it names the living thing and looks substantial, it is common in given names — Itsuki, Tatsuki, Miki.
栃 is the horse chestnut, a character made in Japan and known mainly from the prefecture 栃木. 梛 names a particular evergreen, nagi, and appears almost only in personal and place names.
樹 is the better single character if you mean a living tree; 木 is correct but reads equally as wood, the material. 栃 and 梛 name specific species and will look like a place name or a surname rather than a statement about trees.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.