木 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

木: tree; wood; Thursday. JLPT N5; 4 strokes.

Readings

On readings

モク、ボク

Kun readings

き、こ-

Romaji

moku, boku, ki, ko

Study notes

木 means 'tree, wood'; it also indicates Thursday. 木曜日 (もくようび).

On readings: モク in 木曜日 (もくようび, Thursday), 木材 (もくざい, timber), 木造 (もくぞう, wooden construction), 木星 (もくせい, Jupiter). ボク in 土木 (どぼく, civil engineering), 大木 (たいぼく, imposing tree), 木刀 (ぼくとう, wooden sword); 木馬 (もくば, wooden horse) uses instead モク.

Kun readings: き, 'tree': 並木 (なみき, row of trees), 植木 (うえき, potted plant, garden tree). こ as first element of some compounds: 木陰 (こかげ, tree shadow), 木の葉 (このは, leaves), 木立 (こだち, grove).

Special readings: 木綿 (もめん, cotton) is read as a whole word.

Remember: 木 is the drawing of a tree. Doubled it forms 林 (はやし, forest), tripled 森 (もり, woodland).

Example words

• 木曜日 (もくようび) — Thursday
• 土木 (どぼく) — civil engineering
• 木 (き) — tree
• 木立 (こだち) — grove

Example sentences

木の下で休みます。

ki no shita de yasumimasu.

I rest under the tree.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.