竜胆

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
竜	胆
りん Grade: S	どう Grade: S
irregular

Alternative spellings
龍膽 (kyūjitai) 龍胆 リンドウ

From Middle Chinese 龍膽 (MC ljowng tamX). Metathesis with rendaku of the expected character reading, from りうたん *riutan (> modern りゅうたん *ryūtan) to りんだう rindau (> modern りんどう rindō).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りんどー [ríꜜǹdòò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲĩndo̞ː]

Noun

竜(りん)胆(どう) • (rindō) ^{←りんだう (rindau)?}

1. a perennial herb of the family Gentianaceae, Gentiana scabra var. buergeri

   Synonyms: 笹竜胆 (sasa rindō), 笑草 (emigusa)

2. (loosely) any plant of the genus Gentiana or other closely related species: gentian

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 リンドウ (rindō).

Derived terms

• リンドウ科(か) (rindōka)
• 大葉竜胆(おおばりんどう) (ōba rindō)
• 苔竜胆(こけりんどう) (koke rindō)
• 笹竜胆(ささりんどう) (sasa rindō)
• 蔓竜胆(つるりんどう) (tsuru rindō)
• 当薬竜胆(とうやくりんどう) (tōyaku rindō)
• 春竜胆(はるりんどう) (haru rindō)
• 筆竜胆(ふでりんどう) (fude rindō)
• 深山竜胆(みやまりんどう) (miyama rindō)
• 武佐竜胆(むしゃりんどう) (musha rindō)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
竜	胆
りゅう Grade: S	たん Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternative spellings
龍膽 (kyūjitai) 龍胆 リュウタン

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) りゅうたん [ryùútáń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɾʲɨːtã̠ɴ]

Noun

竜(りゅう)胆(たん) • (ryūtan) ^{←りうたん (riutan)?}

1. (traditional Chinese medicine) rhizome of Gentiana scabra var. buergeri
2. alternative form of 竜胆 (rindō)

References

• “〈竜胆〉”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025