# 材 raw materials

木 (tree) + 才 (skill / age)
★★☆☆☆
7 strokes
BETA SAME ON

## Onyomi

ZAI |

## Mnemonic

| It takes skills to carve a XYLOPHONE from the raw material of wood.

## Jukugo

材料(ざいりょう) | ingredients ★★★☆☆ 材 (raw materials) + 料 (ingredients / fees) = 材料 (ingredients) usually seen on the "ingredients" label on food packaging. But also used about source material for a report: field notes, raw data. The implication is that, unlike 素材, the source material is not totally raw, it's partially assembled --for instance, if you get silk, that's 素材, but when the silk is woven into a fabric, that is 材料, and then the fabric is an ingredient of a handbag.
素材(そざい) | raw material ★★☆☆☆ 素 (element) + 材 (raw materials) = 素材 (raw material) raw material - both literally and figuratively (as in, the raw data that you base your essay or report or novel on) ("I'm working on materal for my novel!")
木材(もくざい) | raw lumber ☆☆☆☆☆ 木 (tree) + 材 (raw materials) = 木材 (raw lumber)

## Lookalikes

| Meaning | Hint | Radical
--- | --- | --- | ---
財 | loot | MONEY | 貝
材 | raw materials | TREE | 木
村 | hicktown | GLUE | 寸

Loot is usually MONEY,

but raw material is lumber from TREES.

The hicks GLUE banjos to their knees .

## Synonyms

ingredients 材料 成分
made from wood 木製 木材
primary sources 資料 材料 素材