森 means “forest”

もり · mori

Also: woods

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): もり
On'yomi (Chinese reading): シン

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 1 · 12 strokes

The story

Sacred forests surround Shinto shrines, their ancient trees home to spirits called kami.

Three trees together, symbolizing abundance

Where it comes from

Compound Ideographic (会意文字): Three trees together: a dense forest.

This is one of the most logical kanji ever created. One tree (木) is just a tree. Two trees (林) make a grove. Three trees (森) make a forest. The more trees you see, the denser the woods.

To remember it: Three trees stacked together. If you can't see the forest for the trees... look at this kanji!

Its parts

木 Tree (top) · Top
木 Tree (left) · Bottom-left
木 Tree (right) · Bottom-right

Three trees together make a dense forest

Example sentences

森の中を散歩しました。 I took a walk in the forest.
森はとても静かです。 The forest is very quiet.

Kanji that look like 森

林 (grove): 林 is two trees (less dense), 森 is three trees (full forest)
木 (tree): 木 is a single tree; 森 is three trees forming a forest

More from Nature's Poetry

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