栽 means “plant, cultivate”

さい · sai

Also: plantation, planting

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

サイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 10 strokes

The story

A tree (木) tucked under a halberd (戈): picture a blade pruning a tree into shape. 栽 is planting and tending: 栽培 is cultivation, and 盆栽, a tree in a tray, is the art Japan sent around the world as bonsai.

Used in 盆栽 (bonsai, bonsai), 栽培 (saibai, cultivation), and 植栽 (shokusai, planting/landscaping)

More from Paddy & Pasture

• 拓 clear land
• 鎌 sickle
• 穫 harvest
• 穂 ear of grain
• 芽 bud
• 苗 seedling
• 刈 cut
• 穀 grain
• 臼 mortar
• 墾 break ground
• 沃 fertile
• 稲 rice plant

Learn 栽 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.