材cái
timber; material, stuff; talent. 7 strokes, radical 木, first met in HSK 3.
What 材 is made of
木 (mù, tree) and 才 (cái, ability).
木 carries the meaning — wood — and 才 carries the sound.
How to write 材
Strokes 1–4 write 木, then strokes 5–7 write 才.
Free, with no account: the app draws each stroke, then you write it and it says which stroke went wrong.
Print a 米字格 practice sheet for 材
Words that use 材
| 教材 | textbooks, course materials 老师上课用来教学的书本 老师为全班发下新教材。The teacher handed out new textbooks to the whole class. Lesson 183, 课堂教学与教材单元 · 校园学术与青春求知 · Campus Academics, Teaching & Training |
| 材料 | source material, data 做研究或写作时用到的原始资料 图书馆保存着丰富的学术材料。The library holds a rich collection of academic the source material. Lesson 250, 本科求索与学海启航 · 校园治学与青春求索 · Campus Academics, Intellectual Debate & Graduation |
| 身材 | figure, build 一个人身体的高矮胖瘦 青年演员身材匀称，舞姿优美。The young performer has a well-balanced figure and dances with grace. Lesson 330, 华夏文脉与古风雅韵 · 文华流韵与笃行善道 · Cultural Heritage, Urban Integrity & Compassionate Action |
| 题材 | subject matter, theme 指作品所选用的材料内容 学者从民间挖掘丰富题材。The scholar mined folk tradition for rich subject matter. Lesson 492, 博雅思辩 · 仰观苍穹与敏学笃行 · Cosmic Vistas & Earnest Inquiry |
Characters that share the sound part 才
Written with the same phonetic, so their readings tend to rhyme with each other.
More characters with the radical 木
All 67 of them, and what the radical means, on the 木 radical page.