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# bonsai

noun (a bonsai, bonsai or bonsais; bonsai, uncountable — the art)

«bonsai» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A bonsai is a tree or shrub kept very small by growing it in a shallow pot and carefully cutting its roots and branches, so it looks like a tiny old tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#m1)
2. Bonsai is the art of growing such trees, which comes from Japan and, before that, China. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#m2)

### In the lessons

In art and culture lessons bonsai is a patient craft: a bonsai can live for hundreds of years and be passed down in families. In science lessons it shows that pruning and a small pot limit a plant's growth. The trees are normal kinds (maple, pine, juniper), not special tiny species. Phrases: bonsai tree, the art of bonsai.

### Examples

- Grandpa trims his bonsai with tiny scissors. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x1)
- The bonsai looked like a big old pine tree, but it was only 30 cm tall. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x2)
- Bonsai is a Japanese art. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x3)
- Some bonsai trees are hundreds of years old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x4)
- A bonsai needs a shallow pot and careful watering. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x5)
- We saw a bonsai maple with red leaves at the garden show. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x6)
- Bonsai teaches you to be patient. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/#x7)

### Note

Pronounced BON-sye. Plural usually bonsai. The word means «tray planting» in Japanese. Myth: bonsai are NOT special dwarf trees; they are ordinary trees kept small.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bonsai» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bonsai/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bonsai» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bonsai.html) on Mova free.