材 meaning and stroke order
Timber; material, stuff; talent
How to write 材, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 材
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- material
- timber
- ability
- aptitude
- a capable individual
- coffin (old)
How 材 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 才 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 材
材 combines 木 (mù, wood) with 才 (cái), which gives the sound. Think of 木 as the raw wood and 才 as the talent that turns it into useful material.
材 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words for materials and resources, like 材料 (cáiliào) and 教材 (jiàocái), and in 身材 (shēncái) for someone's build. Example: 这本教材很好用。(Zhè běn jiàocái hěn hǎo yòng.) This textbook is very useful.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 材 and 才, since both are read cái. Use 才 for 'only then' or talent words like 人才 (réncái), and 材 for physical materials like 木材 (mùcái).
Common words with 材
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 教材 | jiàocái | teaching material | HSK 3 |
| 材料 | cáiliào | (raw) material; data | HSK 4 |
| 身材 | shēncái | stature; build (height and weight) | HSK 4 |
| 题材 | tícái | subject matter | HSK 5 |
| 棺材 | guāncai | coffin | HSK 7-9 |
| 木材 | mùcái | wood | HSK 7-9 |
| 器材 | qìcái | equipment; material | HSK 7-9 |
| 素材 | sùcái | source material (in literature and art) | HSK 7-9 |
| 原材料 | yuáncáiliào | raw and semifinished materials | HSK 7-9 |
| 药材 | yàocái | medicinal ingredient | HSK 7-9 |
| 蠢材 | chǔncái | idiot | |
| 食材 | shícái | (food) ingredient | |
| 材质 | cáizhì | texture of timber; quality of material | |
| 高材生 | gāocáishēng | top student; high achiever; student of outstanding ability |
材 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 材
How many strokes are in 材?
材 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 材 mean?
材 (cái) means timber; material, stuff; talent. A common word with it is 教材 (jiàocái), meaning "teaching material".
How do you pronounce 材?
材 is pronounced cái, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 材?
The radical of 材 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 材 under this radical.
Is 材 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 材 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 材料 and 资料?
材料 (cáiliào) usually means raw or physical materials, though it can also mean documents for a purpose, such as application materials. 资料 (zīliào) means information, data, or reference materials.
Why is 材 in 棺材 pronounced differently?
In 棺材 (guāncai), 材 is usually read in the neutral tone in everyday speech. Elsewhere, as in 材料 or 身材, it keeps its second tone, cái.