串
spit, skewer
Readings
On'yomi
- カン
- ケン
- セン
Kun'yomi
- くし
- つらぬ.く
Meaning
串 centers on piercing and threading things together: a spit or skewer that runs through food, and by extension the act of skewering or piercing through.
Most common words using 串
20 of 28- 串くし
spit; skewer
- 串カツくしカツ
kushikatsu; deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables
- 串刺しくしざし
skewering; skewered food
- 串焼きくしやき
grilling on a skewer; spit-roasting
- 玉串たまぐし
branch of a sacred tree (esp. sakaki) with paper or cotton strips attached (used as an offering)
- 串刺し検索くしざしけんさく
federated search; cross-database search; multi-database search; searching multiple databases at once with a single query
- 串団子くしだんご
skewered dango
- 串打ちくしうち
skewering (fish, meat, etc.; for the purpose of grilling)
- 串揚げくしあげ
kushiage; deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables
- 串柿くしがき
dried persimmons on a skewer
- 串鯖くしさば
mackerel skewer
- 侯串ごうぐし
wooden target holder (in archery)
- 太玉串ふとたまぐし
branch of a sacred tree (esp. sakaki) with paper or cotton strips attached (used as a Shinto offering)
- 幕串まくぐし
curtain pillar; curtain stake
- 幣串へいぐし
staff to which shide are attached to make a go-hei
- 横串よこぐし
skewering horizontally (e.g. fish); skewer with meat skewered on horizontally
- 横串検索よこぐしけんさく
federated search
- 焼き串やきぐし
skewer; spit
- 牛串ぎゅうくし
skewered beef
- 玉串奉奠たまぐしほうてん
reverentially offering a branch of the sacred tree
Study
Etymology
串 is a pictograph of a skewer piercing through two objects, represented by the two 口 shapes stacked on a vertical line. The modern form preserves this image clearly.
Meaning mnemonic
See the vertical line as a skewer piercing through two pieces of food (the two 口 shapes). 串 is a spit or skewer.
Reading mnemonic
For カン, imagine a can of skewered food: can -> カン, and the skewer pierces through the can's contents.