The kanji 植 means "to plant," "to grow," or "to cultivate." It represents the act of putting a seed or plant into the ground so that it can take root and develop. The core meaning centers around the process of nurturing life from the earth.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショク 植 ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): う(える) 植, う(わる) 植

⚫︎植木 (うえき) Translation: Gardening; potted plant; shrubs ⚫︎植樹 (しょくじゅ) Translation: Tree planting; afforestation ⚫︎植物 (しょくぶつ) Translation: Plant; vegetation

⚫︎The kanji 植 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). ⚫︎The left side is the radical 木 (き), meaning "tree" or "wood," indicating the connection to plants. ⚫︎The right side is 直, which gives the sound and originally had the meaning of "straight" or "direct." Together, the combination suggests the act of setting a plant directly upright in the ground, encouraging it to grow straight.