The kanji 材 generally represents "material," "lumber," "timber," or "ingredient." It refers to raw materials used for construction, manufacturing, or other purposes. It can also imply the quality or potential of a person or thing, indicating talent or capabilities.

・On-yomi (音読み): ザイ (zai) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None

⚫︎ 木材 (mokuzai) Translation: Timber; lumber; wood. ⚫︎ 人材 (jinzai) Translation: Human resources; talented person; personnel. ⚫︎ 材料 (zairyō) Translation: Material; ingredient.

The kanji 材 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It is formed by combining the radical 木 (ki, tree), which provides the semantic component (meaning related to wood or material), with the phonetic component 才 (sai), which lends the sound ザイ (zai). The combination suggests material that comes from trees, such as timber or wood. The 才 part on its own means "talent" or "ability," which has expanded the meaning of 材 to refer to someone's potential or capabilities, as in 人材 (jinzai).