Japanese

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) もろこしき​び [mòrókóshí kíꜜbì] (Nakadaka - [5])
• IPA^(key): [mo̞ɺ̠o̞ko̞ɕi kʲibi]

Alternative forms

• 蜀黍

Noun

唐黍 ‎(hiragana もろこしきび, romaji morokoshi kibi)

1. sorghum

Usage notes

The longer term morokoshi kibi has been largely replaced by the shorter form morokoshi below.

Synonyms

• 蜀黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi), 唐黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi)
• 唐黍 (とうきび) ‎(tōkibi)
• 高黍 (たかきび) ‎(takakibi)

Etymology 2

唐黍 (morokoshi, tōkibi): maize.

Abbreviation of morokoshi kibi above, with the abbreviated reading then re-applied to the entire kanji compound.^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) もろこし [mòrókóshí] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [mo̞ɺ̠o̞ko̞ɕi]

Alternative forms

• 蜀黍

Noun

唐黍 ‎(hiragana もろこし, romaji morokoshi)

1. sorghum
2. maize, corn (especially corn on the cob)

Synonyms

• (sorghum): 蜀黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi), 唐黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi), 唐黍 (とうきび) ‎(tōkibi), 高黍 (たかきび) ‎(takakibi)
• (maize): 玉蜀黍 (とうもろこし) ‎(tōmorokoshi), 唐黍 (とうきび) ‎(tōkibi)

Usage notes

The term 玉蜀黍 ‎(tōmorokoshi) is more common for the maize sense.

Etymology 3

/taukibi/ → /tɔːkibi/ → /toːkibi/

Compound of 唐 ‎(tō, “Tang Dynasty; China in general; (by extension) foreign”) +‎ 黍 ‎(kibi, “millet”).^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Jūbakoyomi
• (Tokyo) とうき​び [tòókíꜜbì] (Nakadaka - [3])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [to̞ːkʲibi]

Noun

唐黍 ‎(hiragana とうきび, romaji tōkibi)

1. maize, corn (especially corn on the cob)
2. sorghum

Synonyms

• (maize): 玉蜀黍 (とうもろこし) ‎(tōmorokoshi)
• (sorghum): 蜀黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi), 唐黍 (もろこし) ‎(morokoshi), 高黍 (たかきび) ‎(takakibi)

References

1. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9