松竹梅

Chinese

		pine	bamboo	plum flower
trad. (松竹梅)		松	竹	梅
simp. #(松竹梅)		松	竹	梅

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sōngzhúméi

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄨㄥ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄟˊ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sōngzhúméi
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄨㄥ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: songjhúméi
    • Wade–Giles: sung¹-chu²-mei²
    • Yale: sūng-jú-méi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: songjwumei
    • Palladius: сунчжумэй (sunčžumɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sʊŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ meɪ̯³⁵/

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 松竹梅

1. pine, bamboo and plum, the plants which do not wither in winter; the Three Friends of Winter; symbols of resilience, perseverance

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
松	竹	梅
しょう Grade: 4	ちく Grade: 1	ばい Grade: 4
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
松竹梅 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 松竹梅 (MC zjowng trjuwk mwoj). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Transmitted to Japan during the Nara period.

Noun

松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) • (shōchikubai) 

1. the pine, bamboo, and plum as a set; the three auspicious symbols of the Japanese New Year.

   the pine represents strength, the bamboo represents longevity, and the plum represents beauty and optimism.

2. a three-rank system based on grades or classes of certain items
3. waiting too long in an 鰻屋 (unagi-ya, “eel restaurant”) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

See also

• 歳寒三友(さいかんさんゆう) (Saikan San'yū, “Three Friends of Winter”): 松(しょう) (Shō, “pine”), 竹(ちく) (Chiku, “bamboo”), 梅(ばい) (Bai, “plum”)
• 松竹梅(しょうちくばい) (shōchikubai, “ranking system”): 松(まつ) (matsu, “pine”, the top rank), 竹(たけ) (take, “bamboo”, the middle rank), 梅(うめ) (ume, “plum”, the lowest rank)

Proper noun

松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) • (Shōchikubai) 

1. name of a late-Edo period 箏曲 (sōkyoku, “koto song”)
2. name of various 長唄 (nagauta)
3. name of a 河東節 (katō-bushi) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
4. name of a rakugo
5. name of a brand of sake ("Sho Chiku Bai" in English)

Further reading

• 松竹梅 on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Sho Chiku Bai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia