Meaning
材 means material, timber, and lumber — and stretches further to cover talent and aptitude. Construction, cooking, journalism, education: this character turns up across all of them.
Break 材 into two pieces. The left side is 木 (ki/moku), the radical for tree or wood. The right side is 才 (sai), meaning talent or ability — and it also gives 材 its ザイ pronunciation.
Wood is the raw material from which structures are built. Talent is the raw material from which achievements grow. 材 holds both ideas in one character: physical substance and human potential.
That overlap explains its range. Physically, 材 covers wood, ingredients, and building supplies. Abstractly, it points to human potential, subject matter, and educational resources. Seven strokes, taught in Grade 4 — it earns its place early in the Japanese curriculum.
木 started as a picture of a tree: trunk, roots, branches. 才 adds both the sound and a conceptual nudge — something raw, not yet shaped into what it could become. Together they capture that gap between raw material and finished form.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
材 has one on'yomi: ザイ (zai). It appears in nearly all compound words (熟語, jukugo). The reading traces back to Middle Chinese and carried into Japanese through everyday vocabulary for materials, resources, and talent.
- 材料 (zairyou) — materials, ingredients, data
- 木材 (mokuzai) — lumber, timber, wood
- 人材 (jinzai) — human talent, talented person
- 素材 (sozai) — raw material, basic ingredient
- 教材 (kyouzai) — teaching materials, educational resources
- 取材 (shuzai) — news gathering, interviewing for a story
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
材 has no kun'yomi. It only appears in on'yomi compounds, always read ザイ. (Standalone wood is 木 /ki/.) One reading, no exceptions — which makes 材 one of the more straightforward N3 kanji.
Common Words & Compounds
材 compounds reach across a surprising range of contexts. Here are the most common, grouped by theme.
Physical Materials & Resources
- 材料 (zairyou) — materials, ingredients, data; covers cooking ingredients and manufacturing materials alike
- 木材 (mokuzai) — lumber, timber; processed wood for construction
- 材木 (zaimoku) — lumber, timber; slightly older usage than 木材, but still common
- 素材 (sozai) — raw material, base ingredient; used in both cooking and manufacturing
- 建材 (kenzai) — building materials, construction materials
- 資材 (shizai) — materials, supplies, resources; common in industrial contexts
- 食材 (shokuzai) — food ingredients; everyday cooking vocabulary
Human Talent & Ability
- 人材 (jinzai) — talented person, human resources; standard in business and HR
- 逸材 (itsuzai) — exceptional talent, prodigy; reserved for unusually gifted individuals
- 適材 (tekizai) — the right person for the job; almost always seen in the phrase 適材適所 (tekizai tekisho) — the right person in the right place
Content & Subject Matter
- 題材 (daizai) — subject matter, theme; what a novel, film, or artwork is about
- 取材 (shuzai) — news gathering, research for an article; a journalist 取材する (shuzai suru) when out interviewing
- 教材 (kyouzai) — teaching materials, textbooks, educational content
- 教材費 (kyouzaihi) — cost of teaching materials, school supply fees
Example Sentences
この料理に必要な材料を買ってきてください。
Kono ryouri ni hitsuyou na zairyou wo katte kite kudasai.
Please go buy the ingredients needed for this dish.
工場では、木材を使って家具を作っています。
Koujou de wa, mokuzai wo tsukatte kagu wo tsukutte imasu.
At the factory, they make furniture using lumber.
あの選手は将来が楽しみな逸材だ。
Ano senshu wa shourai ga tanoshimi na itsuzai da.
That athlete is an exceptional talent with a promising future.
この小説の題材は第二次世界大戦です。
Kono shousetsu no daizai wa Dainiji Sekai Taisen desu.
The subject matter of this novel is World War II.
記者は事件の取材のために現場へ向かった。
Kisha wa jiken no shuzai no tame ni genba e mukatta.
The reporter headed to the scene to gather information about the incident.
先生は授業で使う教材を自分で作っています。
Sensei wa jugyou de tsukau kyouzai wo jibun de tsukutte imasu.
The teacher creates her own teaching materials to use in class.
彼は会社にとって欠かせない人材だ。
Kare wa kaisha ni totte kakasenai jinzai da.
He is an indispensable talent for the company.
適材適所の原則に従って人事を決めた。
Tekizai tekisho no gensoku ni shitagatte jinji wo kimeta.
Personnel decisions were made according to the principle of placing the right person in the right position.
建設現場には様々な建材が積まれていた。
Kensetsu genba ni wa samazama na kenzai ga tsunde ita.
Various building materials were stacked at the construction site.
Memory Tip
Picture a talented tree. 木 on the left is the tree — trunk, roots, branches. 才 on the right means talent.
A carpenter looks at a raw log and sees a dining table. A coach watches a kid kick a ball and sees a future professional. 材 works the same way: raw material, not yet shaped into what it could become.
Whenever you see 材, think: 'This tree has talent!'