木 — Kanji Reference

木 (tree, wood): 4 strokes, JLPT N5. On: モク、ボク. Kun: き、こ.

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木

Property Value
Meaning tree, wood
Strokes 4
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) モク、ボク
Kun-reading (訓読み) き、こ
Radical 木 (きへん - kihen) [U+6728]

Stroke Order

The stroke order for 木 follows the standard rules of top-to-bottom and left-to-right.

  1. Stroke 1: The horizontal line (left to right).
  2. Stroke 2: The vertical line (top to bottom, crossing the center of the first stroke).
  3. Stroke 3: The left diagonal slash (top to bottom-left).
  4. Stroke 4: The right diagonal slash (top to bottom-right).

Radical Analysis

The kanji 木 is a pictograph representing a tree. The horizontal line represents the branches, the vertical line represents the trunk, and the two bottom strokes represent the roots spreading into the ground. As a radical, it is known as きへん (kihen) when placed on the left side of a character, and it almost always indicates that the character relates to wood, trees, or nature.

Mnemonic

Imagine a single tree standing in a field. The top horizontal line is the branch, the vertical line is the trunk, and the two bottom strokes are the roots digging into the soil. If you look at the kanji, it literally looks like a stick-figure drawing of a tree!

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

モク (Moku)

Word Reading Romaji English
木曜日 もくようび mokuyōbi Thursday
木材 もくざい mokuzai lumber/timber
土木 どぼく doboku civil engineering

ボク (Boku)

Word Reading Romaji English
木刀 ぼくとう bokutō wooden sword
木星 ぼくせい bokusei Jupiter

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

き (Ki)

Word Reading Romaji English
木 き ki tree
並木 なみき namiki row of trees

こ (Ko)

Word Reading Romaji English
木立 こだち kodachi grove/clump of trees

JLPT N5 Words Using 木

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
木 き ki tree N5
木曜日 もくようび mokuyōbi Thursday N5
木村 きむら Kimura Kimura (surname) N5
木下 きのした Kinoshita Kinoshita (surname) N5
木々 きぎ kigi trees N4
木材 もくざい mokuzai lumber N3
木造 もくぞう mokuzō wooden N3
大木 たいぼく taiboku large tree N2

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
庭に木を植えました。 にわにきをうえました。 Niwa ni ki o uemashita. I planted a tree in the garden.
今日は木曜日です。 きょうはもくようびです。 Kyō wa mokuyōbi desu. Today is Thursday.
この机は木でできています。 このつくえはきでできています。 Kono tsukue wa ki de dekite imasu. This desk is made of wood.
公園に大きな木があります。 こうえんにおおきなきがあります。 Kōen ni ōkina ki ga arimasu. There is a big tree in the park.
木々が風に揺れています。 きぎがかぜにゆれています。 Kigi ga kaze ni yurete imasu. The trees are swaying in the wind.
彼は木刀で練習します。 かれはぼくとうでれんしゅうします。 Kare wa bokutō de renshū shimasu. He practices with a wooden sword.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
木 き tree Has two bottom "roots" (diagonal strokes).
本 ほん book/origin Has a horizontal line at the bottom, indicating the "root" or base of a tree.
末 まつ end The top horizontal line is shorter than the bottom one.

Usage Frequency Note

木 is one of the most fundamental kanji in the Japanese language. It is taught in the first grade of elementary school and appears with extremely high frequency in daily life, ranging from calendar days (Thursday) to surnames and descriptions of materials. It is essential for both formal writing and casual conversation.