森 vs 林 for forest

Question

According to A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters, 森 (38) is woods and 林 (75) is forest.

But some material I've found online related to Japan seems to indicate 森 is the more correct Japanese word for forest.

Is the book correct or do native Japanese speakers use 森 for forest, and not 林?

Edit: To give a little more context I originally avoided in the question to avoid appearing commercial but now I see will help make answers more specific, one of these words is already used to brand a product. If it's the incorrect word I'll need to change the product name.

I hope that helps, and I apologize if being vague hampers you giving what you feel is an appropriate response.

Well, both the kanji look like trees anyway :D – Mr Pie Jul 18 '18 at 04:28 — Mr Pie, Jul 18 '18 at 04:28

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 08 '11 at 03:28

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林 is usually used for "copse", and 森 for "forest".

answered Jun 08 '11 at 03:28

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams

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Do you mean "corpse"? – Huperniketes Jun 08 '11 at 03:47
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[Nope.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copse) – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Jun 08 '11 at 03:48
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I'd say "woods"... "copse" is an exceedingly rare word. – Kef Schecter Jun 08 '11 at 06:42
@Kef, indeed. Especially if the trees aren't periodically cut and since this isn't the English Language and Usage Q&A site. – Huperniketes Jun 08 '11 at 10:24
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I used the word "grove" the other day for 林 – makdad Jun 08 '11 at 12:06
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That would be a simple-yet-good answer if you changed it to "woods" or "grove". The word "copse" is just too rare and confusing. – Boaz Yaniv Jun 08 '11 at 15:33
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I had never heard the word "copse" until I was studying the kanji. I'm not sure enough about the etymology to present this as it's own answer, but instead of thinking direct translation, I think it's fair to simply consider 森 the larger body of wooded area than 林. – Questioner Aug 26 '11 at 06:46
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+1 for using the wonderful word "copse" – Synesso Jan 24 '12 at 01:19

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 23 '15 at 04:27

This is a bit late but hopefully it will be useful to others. I was just discussing this question with a native Japanese speaker (who is also a language teacher). Here's what he said:

林 (はやし): A small collection of trees. A small wood, a copse or a bunch of bushes.
森 (もり): A large wood/a small forest. This one is also meant to conjure up images of bigger, denser, deep green trees as opposed to small trees with light foliage.

...so generally speaking, 森 > 林.

森林 (しんりん): Put them both together and this means a big forest, like the type that would cover a mountain in Japan. This is what the English word 'forest' would usually be translated to.

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 08 '11 at 04:06

It's going to depend on the type of place you're describing. In the case of 森、which in goo's dictionary leads to 森林:

樹木、特に高木が群生して大きな面積を占めている所。また、その植物群落

Loose translation: "A place where trees and shrubs, more specifically tall trees occupy a large area in mass"

Source: http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/115966/m0u/

Where in the case of 林:

樹木がたくさん集まって生えている所

Source: http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/179447/m0u/%E6%9E%97/

Loose Translation: "A place where trees and shrubs gather and grow"

Thank you. It sounds like I might need to write a follow-up question. — Huperniketes, Jun 08 '11 at 04:14

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 08 '11 at 06:16

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Put them together. 森林 (しんりん）

For example: アメリカ合衆国国立森林公園 American National Forest Park

This Japanese Wikipedia article will give you a huge list of examples using: 森, 林, 森林, and others like 梅林. But it seems like "nani nani no mori" is very commonly used. "Nani nani no hayashi" seems not to be used.

edited Jun 08 '11 at 06:16

Amanda S

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answered Jun 08 '11 at 03:38

Gotanda

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森林 is used when you're talking about tree areas in general. 森 and 林 are more specific, with the former referring to denser groups of trees (i.e. forests), and 林 referring to "copse" as Ignacio notes. – Rei Miyasaka Jun 08 '11 at 07:40

森 vs 林 for forest

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