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Kanji Detail for 桂 - "cinnamon, katsura"

桂

  • Meaning

    桂 means "cinnamon, katsura." Also associated with moon tree.

    1. Cinnamon - A general term for fragrant trees.

    2. Moon tree - A legendary tree growing on the moon; hence, the moon itself.

    3. Katsura - A deciduous tree of the katsura family.

    4. Knight - Abbreviation for the shogi piece "keima."

  • Four-character idioms with 桂

    • 桂冠詩人 けいかんしじん Listen poet laureate

  • Origin of 桂

    木, the tree, beside 圭, the jade sceptre, which lends the reading kei: katsura in Japan; in China the cassia — the tree the old tales planted on the moon.

    How to remember it: The tree the old tales planted on the moon — cassia there, katsura here.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 桂

    • Verified meaning: cinnamon, katsura
    • Jinmeiyō kanji — officially approved for use in Japanese given names
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read かつら, けい, けいえい, けいじ)
    • Also carries these associations: moon tree

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 桂

    Given names 桂(かつら)Listen 桂(けい)Listen 桂(まり)Listen

    Surnames 桂(けいえい)Listen 桂(けいじ)Listen 桂(さち)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    Japanese Judas-tree; cinnamon tree

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    cassia or cinnamon

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Gui; abbr. for Guangxi Autonomous Region 廣西壯族自治區|广西壮族自治区[Guang3 xi1 Zhuang4 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 qu1]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    cassia, cinnamon

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A tree name. There are several kinds. Cassia (肉桂): Arrow-shaped leaves with three main veins. Thick and glossy texture. Oily bark that half-curls when dried. The bark of young branches is called 桂枝. Tube cassia (筒桂): Round leaves with pointed tips. Thin bark that curls like bamboo tubes. Grows in Guangxi, used medicinally. Hence Guangxi Province is called 桂省, named after cassia. Osmanthus (巖桂): Also called 木犀. White flowers are called 銀桂 (silver osmanthus). Yellow are 金桂 (golden osmanthus). Red are 丹桂 (vermilion osmanthus). Old customs said the dark spots on the moon were a toad, rabbit, and osmanthus tree. In the imperial examination era, passing the provincial examination was called 蟾宮折桂 (breaking osmanthus branch in the toad palace). The examination was in the eighth month, exactly when the mid-autumn moon is full and osmanthus first blooms.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    kei(ケイ) ケイ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    katsura(かつら) かつら

  • Strokes

    tip

    10 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    木 (ki・kihen)

  • Related Keywords

    cinnamon moon tree katsura knight tree bark fragrant lunar evergreen ornamental medicine

Sentences including 桂

  • Keiko's parents talked her out of dating him.

More kanji with the radical 木 (ki・kihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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