Origin

The character 杉 combines the tree radical 木 on the left, which marks it as a type of plant, with a sound component 彡 on the right that hints at the pronunciation. The cedar tree is native to Japan and other parts of East Asia, so the Japanese word すぎ for this specific tree was written with a character whose shape signals "tree" plus a phonetic guide. The three strokes of 彡 don't represent the appearance of cedar needles or branches; they simply suggest how the character should sound when read aloud.