柘
wild mulberry
Readings
On'yomi
- シャ
- ジャク
Kun'yomi
- そ
- つげ
- やまぐわ
Nanori
- つ
Meaning
柘 centers on a specific tree: the wild mulberry. The meaning is narrow and botanical, without broad abstract extensions.
Most common words using 柘
- 柘榴ざくろ
pomegranate (Punica granatum)
- 柘植つげ
Japanese box tree (Buxus microphylla var. japonica); Japanese boxwood
- 柘つみ
Chinese mulberry (Morus bombycis)
- 柘榴口ざくろぐち
low door used in bathhouses to prevent the hot water from cooling (Edo period)
- 柘榴石ざくろいし
garnet
- 灰礬柘榴石かいばんざくろいし
grossular; grossularite
- 灰鉄柘榴石かいてつざくろいし
andradite
- 緑柘榴石みどりざくろいし
grossular
- 苦礬柘榴石くばんざくろいし
pyrope
- 貴柘榴石きざくろいし
almandine
- 鉄礬柘榴石てつばんざくろいし
almandine
Study
Etymology
柘 combines 木 (tree) with 石 (stone), likely as a phono-semantic compound where 石 hints at the sound and 木 gives the tree meaning. The exact historical development is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
A tree 木 that grows near stones 石, producing wild mulberry fruit. Picture a rugged stone hillside with a hardy mulberry tree.
Reading mnemonic
For シャ, imagine a wild mulberry tree casting a large shadow (シャ) over the stones: shadow -> シャ, and the tree's shade covers the rocky ground.