Word
木材
Meaning in Englishlumber, timber, wood
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Word context
What it means
木材 means lumber or timber—the material derived from trees used in construction, carpentry, and manufacturing.
Main meanings
- Primary meaning as a material: lumber or timber used in building, carpentry, and manufacturing
- Industrial and technical contexts often refer to 木材 as raw wood material rather than finished wood
- The term is distinct from 木 (wood in a living or general sense) and from 材木, another common term for timber
How to use it
Used in formal, technical, and commercial contexts to refer to the wood material in construction, manufacturing, and supply chain discussions; in casual speech, 木材 is less common and speakers may say 木 or 材木 depending on emphasis.
Variants and close terms
- 材木 (zaimoku) — lumber, timber; common in construction contexts
- 木質材料 (mokushitsu zairyō) — wood-based material; more technical
Composition
- 木: tree/wood—the core semantic field of the word
- 材: material; timber; the second element specifying the kind of material
Etymology
木 (ki, tree/wood) + 材 (zai, material; lumber) combine to form 木材, a native Japanese compound meaning timber or lumber; there is no foreign loanword involved.
Word class
noun (名詞)
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