梅 means “Japanese plum, apricot”

うめ · ume

Also: plum

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

うめ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

バイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 4 · 10 strokes

The story

A tree (木) beside 毎, every: picture plum blossom returning every February, before the cherries. The sour fruit becomes 梅干し and 梅酒, and the early-summer rains, 梅雨, fall just as the plums ripen.

Used in 梅干し (umeboshi, pickled plum), 梅雨 (tsuyu, rainy season), and 梅酒 (umeshu, plum liqueur)

More from Trees & Blossoms

• 菊 chrysanthemum
• 梨 pear
• 葛 kudzu
• 桑 mulberry
• 柿 persimmon
• 桃 peach
• 茎 stem
• 萎 wilt
• 藤 wisteria
• 松 pine
• 芝 lawn
• 杉 Japanese cedar

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

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