光苔

Japanese

Kanji in this term
光	苔
ひかり Grade: 2	こけ > ごけ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Etymology

Literally, “light moss”, 光(ひかり) (hikari, “light”) + 苔(こけ) (koke, “moss”). The koke changes to goke as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [çika̠ɾʲiɡo̞ke̞]

Noun

光(ひかり)苔(ごけ) or 光苔(ヒカリゴケ) • (hikarigoke) 

1. luminous moss, Schistostega pennata

Usage notes

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