桂花

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Chinese

Cinnamomum cassia; Guangxi Autonomous Region (abbrev.)
flower; blossom; to spend
flower; blossom; to spend; fancy pattern
 
trad. (桂花)
simp. #(桂花)
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Etymology

Adaptation of (guì) to distinguish the osmanthus from the 肉桂 (ròuguì, “cassia; Chinese cinnamon”).

Pronunciation


Noun

桂花

  1. sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)

Synonyms

Proper noun

桂花

  1. () Guihua (a village in Zhonglu, Lichuan, Enshi prefecture, Hubei, China)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
けい
Jinmeiyō

Grade: 1
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
桂華 (rare)
桂花
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Pronunciation

Etymology 1

*/kweːkwa//keːkwa//keːka/

From Middle Chinese compound 桂花 (kueiH xwæ, literally cassia; osmanthus + flower). Compare modern Min Nan reading kùi-hoe.

Noun

(けい)() (keikaけいくわ (keikwa)?

  1. sweet osmanthus
  2. the flowers of the sweet osmanthus
Usage notes

The term 桂花 is generally reserved for compounds. The tree and the flowers are usually distinguished within Japan between the white-blossoming 銀木犀 (ginmokusei, silver osmanthus) and the orange-blossoming 金木犀 (kinmokusei, gold osmanthus), with the latter being more popular.

Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees (, general name for Lauraceae and other fragrant trees), which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons. Literally, “kei flower”, likening the phases of the moon to the budding and blooming of the trees.[1]

Noun

(けい)() (keikaけいくわ (keikwa)?

  1. (euphemistic) the moon

References

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN