How do you say "wood" in Japanese?

木

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "wood" is 木 (ki).

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Pronunciation

木 is written using kanji. Romanised as ki, it sounds roughly like "kee" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Ki is one of the most fundamental kanji, representing the tree/wood radical itself. It appears in hundreds of compounds.

Example sentence

木はどこにありますか？

Ki wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the wood?

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How to remember 木

The kanji 木 looks like a tree: trunk (middle line) with branches (side strokes). Three trees form a grove (森).

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more farm words.

Questions about 木

How do you pronounce 木?

木 is romanised as ki. Say it roughly like "kee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 木 formal or casual?

木 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 木 written in Japanese?

木 is written using kanji. Ki is one of the most fundamental kanji, representing the tree/wood radical itself.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Wood" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.

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