Japanese symbol for “wood”
林
はやし
Romaji: hayashi
wood; woods; forest; grove
In Japanese, wood is 林, read はやし (hayashi).
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 wood; woods; forest; grove; copse; thicket
- n bunch (of something); cluster; line; collection
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “wood”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 材木 | ざいもく zaimoku | wood (for building); lumber; timber |
| 木 | き ki | wood; timber |
| 木材 | もくざい mokuzai | lumber; timber; wood |
| ウッド | ウッド uddo | wood |
| 材 | ざい zai | wood; lumber; timber |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 森林 | しんりん shinrin | forest; woods |
| 農林 | のうりん nourin | agriculture and forestry |
| 林業 | りんぎょう ringyou | forestry |
| 山林 | さんりん sanrin | mountain forest; forest on a mountain; forest land |
| 林檎 | りんご ringo | apple (fruit) |
| 竹林 | ちくりん chikurin | bamboo thicket; bamboo grove |
See also: Chinese symbol for “wood”.
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.