木 — Tree, Wood

Meaning

The kanji 木 means tree or wood. Compact at just four strokes, it carries considerable range — standing alone as a common word, serving as a productive radical, and threading through dozens of everyday compounds. Thursday, lumber, woodworking, tree-lined streets: 木 shows up in all of them.

木 is a pictograph (象形文字, shōkeimoji) — a character descended directly from a drawing of a real object. Ancient oracle bone script versions show an unmistakable tree: a vertical trunk, a branching crown at the top, roots fanning outward below. Centuries of use stripped away the detail until only four clean strokes remained. Look at the modern character and the structure survives — trunk, branches, roots, all still there.

木 has 4 strokes and belongs to Grade 1 of the Japanese elementary school curriculum, taught alongside 山, 川, and 日 in a child's first year. It also stands as its own radical (木部, mokubu), appearing inside kanji such as 森 (forest), 林 (grove), 本 (origin), 末 (tip/end), and 机 (desk).

Readings

On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings

The on'yomi readings are ボク (boku) and モク (moku), both inherited from ancient Chinese pronunciation. These readings appear mainly in multi-kanji compound words (熟語, jukugo).

モク (moku) is the more common of the two. Thursday — 木曜日もくようび (mokuyōbi, literally "wood day") — is the word most learners meet first. モク also appears in 木材もくざい (mokuzai, lumber), 木造もくぞう (mokuzō, wooden construction), and 木製もくせい (mokusei, made of wood).

ボク (boku) turns up less often in daily speech. A clear common example is 土木どぼく (doboku — civil engineering), where 木 takes the ボク reading alongside 土 (do, earth). It also appears in more literary vocabulary: 木訥ぼくとつ (bokutotsu — honest and plain-spoken). Worth recognizing even if you rarely produce it.

Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings

The kun'yomi readings are き (ki) and **こ

• (ko-)**. These native Japanese readings appear when the kanji stands alone or pairs with native Japanese words.

き (ki) is the everyday word for "tree." It combines freely: 木の葉きのは (ki no ha, tree leaf), 木の実きのみ (ki no mi, fruit or nut from a tree), 並木なみき (namiki, row of trees). This reading will cover most situations.

**こ

• (ko-)** appears as a prefix in a handful of native words. Two to know: 木陰こかげ (kokage — shade under a tree) and 木立こだち (kodachi — a stand of trees). Less productive than き, but natural Japanese text uses it regularly.

Common Words & Compounds

木 threads through many areas of everyday Japanese. Key compounds grouped by theme:

Nature & Environment

• 木き (ki) — a tree
• 木の葉きのは (ki no ha) — leaf of a tree
• 木立こだち (kodachi) — a stand of trees
• 木陰こかげ (kokage) — shade under a tree
• 木の実きのみ (ki no mi) — fruit or nut from a tree

Materials & Construction

• 木材もくざい (mokuzai) — lumber, timber
• 木造もくぞう (mokuzō) — wooden construction
• 木製もくせい (mokusei) — made of wood
• 木工もっこう (mokkō) — woodworking, carpentry
• 土木どぼく (doboku) — civil engineering

Days of the Week

• 木曜日もくようび (mokuyōbi) — Thursday
• 木曜もくよう (mokuyō) — Thursday (short form)

Other Common Words

• 木馬もくば (mokuba) — wooden horse, rocking horse
• 並木なみき (namiki) — row of trees, tree-lined street
• 植木うえき (ueki) — garden tree, potted plant

Example Sentences

Related Kanji

• 空 — Sky, Empty, Air (Kanji N5)
• 雨 — Rain (Kanji N5)
• 手 — Hand (Kanji N5)
• 気 — Spirit, Energy, Air (Kanji N5)
• 百 — Hundred (Kanji N5)
• 人 — Person (Kanji N5)

Memory Tip

Picture 木 as a front-view sketch of a tree. The long vertical stroke is the trunk. Two diagonal strokes above it are branches reaching toward the light. Two diagonal strokes below are roots gripping the soil.

The character and its meaning show the same image — which makes 木 one of the more forgiving kanji to retain. It also gives you a head start on related characters: 林 (two 木 side by side = grove) and 森 (three 木 = forest) click into place once you see how they're assembled.