What does bonsai mean?
Word: Bonsai
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Bonsai means a miniature tree grown in a shallow pot and trained to stay small; also the art of growing such trees.
Word origin: From Japanese, 'tray planting'.
How do you spell bonsai?
Syllables: bon - sai
Tricky part: The 'eye' sound at the end is spelt ai, which looks odd to English eyes: bonsay and bonsae are common slips.
Watch out for: bonsay, bonsae
Memory tip: Samurai, another word that came from Japan, also ends in ai for its 'eye' sound: remember the two together.
Bonsai in a sentence
Example 1: Grandpa has looked after his bonsai fig for twenty years.
Example 2: At the Lalbagh flower show, a bonsai only thirty centimetres tall had a thick, twisted trunk.
Example 3: Bonsai needs patience, because a tree can take years to look old.
Fun Fact
The art of bonsai began in China, where it is called penjing, and was later developed in Japan, which gave it the name the world uses today.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
b_n_ai
a) o, z
b) u, s
c) o, s
d) a, s
Show answer
c) o, s. The first vowel is a short o, and the next sound is a soft s, not a buzzing z.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
bonnsai
a) o
b) n
c) b
d) s
Show answer
b) n. Only one n is needed; doubling it would not change the sound.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. bonsai 2. haiku 3. kimmono 4. origami
a) a tiny tree grown in a pot
b) a long, loose robe with wide sleeves, worn in Japan
c) the art of folding paper into shapes
d) a short poem of three lines
Show answer
b) a long, loose robe with wide sleeves, worn in Japan. Kimono has a single m; bonsai, origami and haiku are all spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A bonsai is kept small mainly by ____.
a) feeding it fertiliser every single week
b) keeping it in deep shade all year
c) careful pruning of its roots and branches
d) planting it in a large, deep tub
Show answer
c) careful pruning of its roots and branches
2. Which of these could be grown as a bonsai?
a) a pot of basil
b) a bed of lettuce
c) a young tamarind tree
d) a climbing pea plant
Show answer
c) a young tamarind tree
