盆栽

Chinese

		basin	to force; to stick in; to plant
trad. (盆栽)		盆	栽
simp. #(盆栽)		盆	栽

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): pénzāi

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄣˊ ㄗㄞ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): pun⁴ zoi¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): phûn-chai

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pénzāi
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄣˊ ㄗㄞ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pénzai
    • Wade–Giles: pʻên²-tsai¹
    • Yale: pén-dzāi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: perntzai
    • Palladius: пэньцзай (pɛnʹczaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰən³⁵ t͡saɪ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: pun⁴ zoi¹
    • Yale: pùhn jōi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: pun⁴ dzoi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: pun⁴ zoi¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰuːn²¹ t͡sɔːi̯⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phûn-chai
    • Tâi-lô: phûn-tsai
    • Phofsit Daibuun: phunzay
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /pʰun²⁴⁻²² t͡sai⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /pʰun²⁴⁻²² t͡sai³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /pʰun¹³⁻²² t͡sai⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /pʰun²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sai⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /pʰun²³⁻³³ t͡sai⁴⁴/

Verb

盆栽

1. to pot (a plant)

Noun

盆栽

1. potted plant
2. bonsai (a miniaturized tree or plant)

Synonyms

• (bonsai):

edit

• 樹仔 / 树仔 (Cantonese)
• 樹仔頭 / 树仔头 (syu⁶ zai² tau⁴) (Cantonese)
• 盆景 (pénjǐng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (盆栽):

• → Japanese: 盆(ぼん)栽(さい) (bonsai) (see there for further descendants)
• → Korean: 분재(盆栽) (bunjae)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
盆	栽
ぼん Grade: S	さい Grade: S
goon	on'yomi

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Chinese 盆栽 (pénzāi) as a kind of calque of the older Japanese term 鉢植え (hachiue, “potted plant”, literally “pot + planting”), based on the synonymous meanings of the individual kanji: 盆 (bon) can refer to a pot, while 栽 (sai) can refer to a plant.

First cited to a collection of 漢詩 (kanshi, “Chinese-style poetry”) from 1832.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bõ̞ɰ̃sa̠i]
• (Tokyo) ぼんさい [bòńsáí] (Heiban – [0])

Noun

盆(ぼん)栽(さい) • (bonsai) 

1. [from 1832] a potted plant that has been grown and aesthetically trimmed for the purpose of viewing: a bonsai, a dwarf tree

Descendants

• → English: bonsai

References

• “盆栽”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
盆	栽

Noun

盆栽 • (bunjae) (hangeul 분재)

1. hanja form^? of 분재 (“a potted plant that has been grown and aesthetically trimmed for the purpose of viewing; a bonsai, a dwarf tree”)