Translingual

Han character

桜 (radical 75 木+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 木火女 (DFV), composition ⿰木⿱⺍女)

1. cherry, cherry blossom

References

• KangXi: not present, would follow page 526, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14796
• Hanyu Da Zidian: not present, would follow volume 2, page 1207, character 5
• Unihan data for U+685C

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 櫻)

1. a cherry tree
2. a cherry blossom

Readings

• Goon: よう (yō), (historical) やう (yau)
• Kan’on: おう (ō), (historical) あう (au)
• Kun: さくら (sakura)

Compounds

Etymology

桜（桜木） cherry tree	桜（桜花） cherry blossom
桜（木材） cherry wood	桜（桜皮） cherry bark
桜（桜色） cherry blossom pink	桜（桜肉） "cherry meat" (horsemeat)
桜（天保一分銀） cherry blossom coin	桜（桜湯） cherry blossom tea
桜（花札） cherry blossom suit

From Old Japanese.^[1] Derived from verb 咲く ‎(saku, “to bloom, to burst open”) +‎ ら ‎(ra), a nominalizing and pluralizing suffix.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) さくら [sàkúrá] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [sa̠kɯᵝɾ̠a̠]

Noun

桜 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 櫻, hiragana さくら, katakana サクラ, romaji sakura)

1. a cherry tree, more specifically the Japanese cherry, Prunus serrulata
2. a cherry blossom
3. cherry wood
4. cherry bark
5. short for 桜色 ‎(sakura iro, “a pink color, the color of cherry blossoms”)
6. short for 桜重, 桜襲 ‎(sakuragasane, “a layered style of wearing kimono with one layer in the sakura iro color”)
7. short for 桜肉 ‎(sakura niku, “horsemeat”), from the color
8. alternate term for 天保一分銀 ‎(Tenpō ichibugin), a rectangular silver coin issued during the 天保 ‎(Tenpō) era (1830-1844), so called for its cherry blossom pattern; worth one-quarter of a 両 ‎(ryō)
9. in the Kansai region, a class of prostitute in the red-light district
10. short for 桜湯 ‎(sakura yu, “sakura tea”)
11. the suit of cards in a hanafuda deck that show the cherry blossom, representing the month of March
12. the middle of the dorsal fin of a fish
13. in theater during the Edo Period, a special box or balcony seat for a hired applauder, someone requested to cheer on the performers
14. (slang) a shill, capper, or come-on working for a store, auction, or even a swindle, who is paid to attract customers or marks
15. (slang) a slang or jargon word for 耳 ‎(mimi, “ear”)
16. short for 佐倉炭 ‎(Sakura-zumi), a high-quality 炭 ‎(sumi, “charcoal”) made in 佐倉 ‎(Sakura, Chiba Prefecture), using 桜 as ateji for 佐倉

Synonyms

• (cherry tree): 桜木 (さくらぎ) ‎(sakuragi)
• (cherry blossom): 桜花 (おうか) ‎(ōka), 桜花 (さくらばな) ‎(sakurabana)
• (cherry bark): 桜皮 (さくらがわ) ‎(sakuragawa)
• (horsemeat): 桜肉 (さくらにく) ‎(sakuraniku), 馬肉 (ばにく) ‎(baniku)
• (silver coin): 天保一分銀 (てんぽういちぶぎん) ‎(Tenpō ichibugin); 額銀 (がくぎん) ‎(gakugin)
• (sakura tea): 桜湯 (さくらゆ) ‎(sakura yu)

See also

• 木材 (もくざい) ‎(mokuzai): wood, timber, lumber
• 花札 (はなふだ) ‎(hanafuda): "flower cards", a type of Japanese card deck and game
• 背鰭 (せびれ) ‎(sebire): a dorsal fin

Proper noun

桜 ‎(hiragana さくら, romaji Sakura)

1. A female given name
2. the name of various cities, districts, and other places around Japan
3. a piece of 琴 ‎(koto) music, often entitled Sakura Sakura in English
4. a piece of music played at the start of 平曲 ‎(Heikyoku) (a retelling of The Tale of the Heike with 琵琶 ‎(biwa) lute accompaniment)

See also

References

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