Share this link via
Or copy link
One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Frost" is 霜.
霜
frost, white
Also associated with cold.
Onyomi: soh Kunyomi: shimo 17 strokes Jōyō
霜 (shimo / sō) is frost — the rain radical 雨 over 相: what falls and settles as a mutual coating on everything it finds. Frost matters in a rice-farming culture, and the old calendar honours it twice: 霜降 (sōkō), “frost descends”, is one of the twenty-four solar terms in late October, and 霜月 (shimotsuki), “frost month”, is the classical name for November.
The kitchen borrowed the image beautifully: 霜降り — “frost-falling” — is the marbling of premium wagyū beef, fat laced through red like frost across ground. And years leave 霜 on people: hair touched with grey is frosted in Japanese as in English.
Its colder siblings: 氷 (ice), 雪 (snow), 凍 (to freeze), and 露 (dew) — the warmer twin that falls without freezing. 初霜, the first frost, is an autumn kigo — a season-word — in haiku.
霜 is delicate and unusual — frost, the marbling of beauty over cold, a November word. It carries a note of age (frosted hair) and of transience, both poetic rather than negative. A wagyū enthusiast will grin at it, which you may consider a feature.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.