Translingual

Han character

桂 (radical 75 木+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 木土土 (DGG), four-corner 4491₄, composition ⿰木圭)

References

• KangXi: page 525, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14755
• Dae Jaweon: page 913, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1193, character 5
• Unihan data for U+6842

Chinese

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *kʷeːs) : semantic 木 + phonetic 圭 ‎(OC *kʷeː) – a type of plant.

Pronunciation

Definitions

桂

1. osmanthus; sweet osmanthus
2. cassia; Chinese cinnamon
   • 以椒、姜、桂和烹而飲之 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     以椒、姜、桂和烹而饮之 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
     From: Tang Dynasty, Fan Chuo, Manshu, chapter 7, part 7

     yǐ jiāo, jiāng, guì hé pēng ér yǐn zhī [Pinyin]

     ...use pepper, ginger or tumeric, and cinnamon (ie. Cinnamomum cassia) to boil as a drink.

3. true cinnamon; Saigon cinnamon; Indonesian cinnamon
4. laurel; bay laurel
5. of or relating to Guilin, Guangxi, or the region of the Gui River
6. A surname​.

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

1. the katsura, the Japanese Judas tree
2. the cinnamon or cassia tree
3. the sweet osmanthus tree

Readings

• Goon: かい (kai)
• Kan’on: けい (kei)
• Kun: かつら (katsura), めかつら (mekatsura)
• Nanori: かつ (katsu), よし (yoshi), か (ka)

Compounds

桂（カツラ）の葉っぱと実

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 香 ‎(ka, “fragrance, good smell”) +‎ 出 ‎(zu, “to come out, to put something out”) + ら ‎(ra, nominalizing suffix): "that which puts out a good smell", from the way the wood smells good.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) かつら [kàtsúrá] (Heiban - [0])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠t͡sɯᵝɾ̠a̠]

Alternative forms

• 楓 (uncommon)

Noun

桂 ‎(hiragana かつら, romaji katsura)

1. the katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, also called the Japanese Judas tree
2. less commonly, the smaller Cercidiphyllum magnificum tree, more specifically called the 広葉桂 or ヒロハカツラ ‎(hiroha katsura, “broadleaf katsura”).
3. a tree on the moon, from a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by Lauraceae trees budding, blossoming, then dropping their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons
4. julienned raw daikon, used as a garnish for sashimi
5. alternate word for 肉桂 ‎(nikkei, “the cinnamon or cassia tree”) or 桂皮 ‎(keihi, “cinnamon or cassia bark”)

Derived terms

• 桂男 (かつらおとこ) ‎(katsura otoko): the katsura man, a character in the Chinese legend who lives on the moon

Proper noun

桂 ‎(hiragana かつら, romaji Katsura)

1. A male given name
2. A surname​.
3. the west bank of the Katsura River in Kyōto

桂（めかつら）の葉っぱと実

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Alternate spelling for 女桂 ‎(mekatsura, “female katsura”), an archaic name for the cinnamon tree. Compare 男桂 ‎(okatsura, “male katsura: the katsura tree”). Appears with this reading in the 和名類聚抄 ‎(Wamyō Ruijushō), a Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters completed in 938.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [me̞ka̠t͡sɯᵝɾ̠a̠]

Alternative forms

• 女桂 (めかつら) ‎(mekatsura)

Noun

桂 ‎(hiragana めかつら, romaji mekatsura)

1. the cinnamon tree, or other closely related trees in genus Cinnamomum

Synonyms

• 肉桂 (にっけい) ‎(nikkei)

Etymology 3

From Sinitic 桂.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) け​い [kéꜜè] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

Noun

桂 ‎(hiragana けい, romaji kei)

1. the cinnamon or cassia tree
2. common name for various other trees in family Lauraceae
3. in China, the 木犀 ‎(mokusei) or sweet osmanthus tree

Synonyms

• (cinnamon or cassia): 肉桂 (にっけい) ‎(nikkei)
• (sweet osmanthus): 木犀 (もくせい) ‎(mokusei)

Etymology 4

From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees, which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

Noun

桂 ‎(hiragana けい, romaji kei)

1. (euphemistic) the moon

Synonyms

• 月 (つき) ‎(tsuki)
• 桂花 (けいか) ‎(keika)

将棋の桂

Etymology 5

Abbreviation of 桂馬 ‎(keima), the knight in 将棋 ‎(shōgi, “Japanese chess”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) けい [kèé] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• (Tokyo) け​い [kéꜜè] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

Noun

桂 ‎(hiragana けい, romaji kei)

1. the knight in 将棋 ‎(shōgi, “Japanese chess”)

Synonyms

• 桂馬 (けいま) ‎(keima)

References

1. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

Korean

Hanja

桂 • ‎(gye) (hangeul 계, revised gye, McCune-Reischauer kye, Yale kyey)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

桂 (quế)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.