冬子

Japanese

Kanji in this term
冬	子
どん Grade: 2	こ Grade: 1
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
冬菇 冬茸 冬蓀 冬藊 ドンコ

Etymology

Probably cognate with Mandarin 冬菇 (dōnggū, “winter mushroom”). The final 子 appears to be ateji for 菇, as the latter is not used very much in Japanese.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) どんこ [dòńkó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [dõ̞ŋko̞]

Noun

冬(どん)子(こ) • (donko) 

1. a type of shiitake mushroom grown during the winter

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ドンコ.

See also

• 椎(しい)茸(たけ) (shītake)