What does 材料 mean?
材料 is a Japanese noun meaning “ingredients, material” in English. It can also be translated as “material (for a novel, experiment, etc.), grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.), (market) factor” depending on context. It is written as 材料 in kanji, ざいりょう in hiragana, and zairyou in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Example sentences
小麦粉はケーキの主な材料だ。
Flour is the main ingredient in cakes.
彼は自分の書く物語の材料はたいてい子供時代の体験に頼っている。
He draws on his childhood experiences for the material of most of his stories.