bonsai

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A small tree grown in a shallow pot and carefully trimmed and shaped so that it stays tiny but looks like a full-sized tree.

   Grammar: The plural stays the same: two bonsai.

   Patterns

   • a bonsai tree
   • a bonsai of something

   My grandfather keeps a bonsai on the windowsill.

   The exhibition displayed fifty bonsai from across Japan.

   Trimming a bonsai takes patience and a steady hand.

2. 2noununcountable

   The Japanese art of growing and shaping such miniature trees.

   Grammar: No article in this sense: she studies bonsai.

   Patterns

   • practice bonsai
   • the art of bonsai

   She took up bonsai after she retired.

   Bonsai teaches you to be patient and observe closely.

   The club meets each week to practice bonsai.

Word forms

Common combinations

bonsai tree

He bought a small bonsai tree for his desk.

prune a bonsai

You must prune a bonsai every few weeks.

bonsai pot

The bonsai pot was shallow and glazed.

bonsai garden

The bonsai garden was open to visitors.

wire a bonsai

She wired a bonsai to bend its branch.

miniature bonsai

Miniature bonsai can fit on a bookshelf.

Synonyms and how they differ

miniature tree

Miniature tree is a general description and does not refer to the art or the shaping practice.

dwarf tree

Dwarf tree describes a tree that naturally grows small, while a bonsai is made small by trimming and pot size.

potted tree

Potted tree is any tree in a pot, which may grow to normal size.

Word family

bonsai noun

the miniature tree itself

bonsai artist noun

someone who shapes bonsai trees

penjing noun

the Chinese art that bonsai came from

prune verb

to cut branches to shape a plant

Commonly confused: bonsai or banzai?

Practice

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