Japanese symbol for “sapling”

苗木

なえぎ

Romaji: naegi

seedling; sapling; young tree

In Japanese, sapling is 苗木, read なえぎ (naegi).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n seedling; sapling; young tree

Kanji and stroke order

苗

seedling, sapling, shoot

on: ビョウ、ミョウ
kun: なえ、なわ-

8 strokes · JLPT 1

木

tree, wood

on: ボク、モク
kun: き、こ-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “sapling”

Word	Reading	Meaning
若木	わかぎ wakagi	young tree; sapling

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
苗字	みょうじ myouji	surname; family name; last name
早苗	さなえ sanae	rice seedling
苗床	なえどこ naedoko	seedbed; nursery; seed-plot
種苗	しゅびょう shubyou	seeds and seedlings
育苗	いくびょう ikubyou	raising seedlings
木材	もくざい mokuzai	lumber; timber; wood
木造	もくぞう mokuzou	wooden; made of wood; wooden construction
木曜	もくよう mokuyou	Thursday

See also: Chinese symbol for “sapling”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.