菜 — “vegetable” in Japanese

Grade 4さい, な

Radical ⾋ · radical 140 The building block this kanji is filed under

“vegetable” in Japanese is 菜, read sai, na (さい, な). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 野菜 (vegetables).

Try it now

What does 菜 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	菜
Meaning	vegetable
Readings	さい, な
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	野菜 (vegetables)

How to read 菜

菜 is read sai (さい) or na (な) depending on the word.

Words with 菜

野菜やさい

Learn 菜 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 菜

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28