also: わかき
young tree; sapling
Refers to a tree that is still young and not fully grown. Often used in gardening, forestry, or poetic contexts.
I planted a young tree in the garden.
この若木はまだ実をつけない。
This sapling doesn't bear fruit yet.
若木 is a young, still-small tree, the opposite of a large, mature 大木.
Standard kanji spelling; the reading わかぎ is the most common.
Alternate reading; less common than わかぎ.
Compound of 若 (waka, 'young') and 木 (ki, 'tree'), with rendaku voicing giving わかぎ. The alternate reading わかき retains the unvoiced form.