桂

Translingual

Etymology

Phono-semantic compound (形聲): semantic 木 + phonetic 圭 – a type of plant.

Han character

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

1. laurel
2. osmanthus, sweet osmanthus
3. cassia, Chinese cinnamon
4. cinnamon
5. Of or relating to Guilin, Guangxi, or the region of the Gui River

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

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Cantonese

Hanzi

桂 (Yale gwai3)

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Japanese

Kanji

桂 (common “Jōyō” kanji)

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

Readings

• 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

Compounds

桂子 (けいこ, Keiko): a female given name 桂飴 (かつらあめ, katsura ame): a type of sweet traditionally sold in villages in the mountains around Kyōto Prefecture 桂鮎 (かつらあゆ, katsura ayu): ayu (sweetfish) caught in the Katsura River in Kyōto 桂庵 (けいあん, keian): a mediary in an arranged marriage or in a lawsuit; a hiring placement specialist 桂園 (けいえん, Keien): pseudonym for 香川景樹 (Kagawa Kageki), a poet during the late Edo Period 桂園一枝 (けいえんいっし, Keien Isshi): a private anthology of poetry printed towards the end of the Edo Period 桂園派 (けいえんは, Keienha): a style of 和歌 (waka) poetry, founded by 香川景樹 (Kagawa Kageki) 桂科 (かつらか, katsuraka): the Cercidiphyllaceae family, containing only the Cercidiphyllum genus, containing only the two species Cercidiphyllum japonicum and Cercidiphyllum magnificum, both commonly called 桂 (katsura) 桂花, 桂華 (けいか, keika): (metaphor) the moon, from a Chinese legend of trees growing on the moon 桂冠 (けいかん, keikan): a laurel wreath 桂冠詩人 (けいかんしじん, keikan shijin): a poet laureate 桂巻 (かつらまき, katsura maki): a style of women's head wrapping popular during the Muromachi Period, using a long piece of cloth tied in front above the forehead 桂宮 (かつらのみや, Katsura-no-miya): one of the four 親王家 (shinnōke, “branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out”) 桂宮院 (けいきゅういん, Keikyūin; けいぐういん, Keigūin): the inner temple building at the Hōryūji Temple in Kyoto 桂月 (けいげつ, keigetsu): alternate word for 月 (tsuki, “the moon”); the eighth lunar month 桂湖村 (かつらこそん, Katsura Koson): a Japanese author, lived 1868-1934 桂江 (けいこう, Keikō): a river in the Chūgoku region of Japan 桂三木助 (かつらみきすけ, Katsura Mikisuke): a traditional Japanese comedian (落語 (rakugo) performer); the first by this name lived 1894-1943, the second lived 1902-1961 桂枝 (けいし, keishi): a branch from a cassia, katsura, laurel, or cinnamon tree; a branch from the legendary tree that grows on the moon 桂芝 (けいし, keishi): alternate word for 万年茸 (mannentake), a type of mushroom 桂樹 (けいじゅ, keiju): common name for various trees in family Lauraceae, particularly the cinnamon or cassia trees; a legendary tree growing on the moon; alternate for 浜枇杷 (hamabiwa, “a type of tree in the genus Litsea, related to the laurel”) 桂秋 (けいしゅう, keishū): alternate word for 秋 (aki, “autumn”) 桂春団治 (かつらはるだんじ, Katsura Harudanji): stage name for 川田藤吉 (Kawada Fujiyoshi), a 落語 (rakugo, “traditional Japanese comedy”) performer in Ōsaka, lived 1881-1937 桂女 (かつらめ, katsurame): a type of 巫女 (miko, “shrine maiden”); a woman selling of katsura ayu and katsura ame in areas around old Kyōto; a prostitute from the village of Katsura near Kyōto; a noblewoman's bridesmaid in ancient Japan 桂小五郎 (かつらこごろう, Katsura Kogorō): former name of 木戸孝允 (Kido Takayoshi), an important politician in the late Edo Period and early Meiji Period 桂昌院 (けいしょういん, Keishōin): concubine of 徳川家光 (Tokugawa Iemitsu), the third Tokugawa shōgun 桂心 (けいしん, keishin): cinnamon or cassia bark, as used in cooking; Cinnamomum tenuifolium, Japanese cinnamon; a type of mochi confection coated in cinnamon powder 桂仙花 (けいせんか, keisenka): alternate word for 翁草 (okinagusa), Pulsatilla cernua, a type of low-growing anemone

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
• IPA: [ka̠t͡su͍ɽa̠]

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. 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: [me̞ka̠t͡su͍ɽa̠]

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
• IPA: [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, モクセイ, 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
• IPA: [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
• IPA: [ke̞ː]

Noun

桂 (hiragana けい, romaji kei)

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

Synonyms

• 桂馬 (けいま, keima)

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Korean

Hanja

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

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Mandarin

Hanzi

桂 (pinyin guì (gui4), Wade-Giles kuei⁴)

Compounds

• 桂花
• 桂花糕
• 桂花茶
• 桂花醬
• 桂花酱
• 桂花酒
• 桂圆
• 桂圆肉

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Vietnamese

Han character

桂 (quế)