What's the deal with '木', '林', and '森'?

[Elnu]

こんにちわ！

I’m slightly confused about the relationship between the kanji ‘木’, ‘林’, and ‘森.’ I know that ‘木’ means tree, but what are ‘林’, and ‘森’? I’ve heard some sources say that ‘林’ is forest and ‘森’ is woods, and some vice versa. Thanks so much for your help in advance! ありがとう！

[zentyra]

the more trees in the kanji the more trees in the thing it describes
hayashi is like a grove
mori is a forest

[Elnu]

Thanks so much! I’ll update my list.

[Vanilla]

@Zenatyra

the more trees in the kanji the more trees in the thing it describes
hayashi is like a grove
mori is a forest

Theres a bit more to it than that.
Copy pasting my reply from a previous thread on this

森：樹木が多くこんもりと生い茂っている所。
林：樹木がたくさん群がって生えている所。

森 is more dense and overgrown. Ever heard of the aokigahara forest thats been in the news because of the vlogger stuff? Thats a 森. Here are pictures

and heres a 林

See the difference?

森 can also describe a natural kind of forest area whereas 林 is manmade/manplanted.「森」は「盛り」。自然にモリモリ盛り上がったもの.「林」は「生やし」。人が生やしたもの。

EDIT: Heres the thread if you wanna read more 森 vs 林 - which is more forest?

[burgerlands2]

@Vanilla

「森」は「盛り」。自然にモリモリ盛り上がったもの.「林」は「生やし」。人が生やしたもの。

This is the coolest line I’ve read all day

Granted I just woke up an hour ago but it’s still really cool

[davikani]