椎
chinquapin, mallet, spine
Readings
On'yomi
- ツイ
- スイ
Kun'yomi
- つち
- う.つ
Nanori
- しい
Meaning
椎 centers on a hard, rounded object used for striking or as a structural support: a mallet or hammer, and by extension the spine (vertebrae) which are like small mallets or blocks stacked together. The chinquapin tree meaning is a specific botanical application, likely from the tree's hard wood used for mallets.
Most common words using 椎
20 of 43- 脊椎せきつい
spine; vertebral column; spinal column; backbone
- 椎茸しいたけ
shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes); shitake
- 椎しい
any beech tree of genus Castanopsis; chinquapin; chinkapin
- 頚椎けいつい
cervical vertebrae
- 椎間板ついかんばん
intervertebral disk
- 腰椎ようつい
lumbar vertebra; lumbar vertebrae
- 脊椎動物せきついどうぶつ
vertebrate; vertebrates; vertebrata
- 胸椎きょうつい
thoracic vertebra; thoracic vertebrae
- 椎骨ついこつ
vertebra; vertebrae
- いた椎いたじい
Castanopsis sieboldii (species of chinquapin)
- すだ椎すだじい
Castanopsis sieboldii (species of chinquapin)
- 二分脊椎にぶんせきつい
spina bifida
- 二分脊椎症にぶんせきついしょう
spina bifida
- 仙椎せんつい
sacral vertebra
- 円椎つぶらじい
Castanopsis cuspidata (species of chinquapin)
- 分椎目ぶんついもく
Temnospondyli; extinct order of tetrapods
- 小椎こじい
Castanopsis cuspidata (species of chinquapin)
- 尾椎びつい
caudal vertebra
- 強直性脊椎炎きょうちょくせいせきついえん
ankylosing spondylitis
- 日本二分脊椎協会にっぽんにぶんせきついきょうかい
Spina Bifida Association of Japan
Study
Etymology
椎 combines 木 (tree/wood) with 隹, which likely contributes the sound. The character originally referred to a type of tree (chinquapin) whose hard wood was used for making mallets, and later extended to mean mallet and spine.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 木 is a tree, and the right side 隹 looks like a bird. Imagine a woodpecker (bird) hammering a tree with its beak like a mallet, or picture the tree's trunk as a spine with vertebrae stacked like little mallets.
Reading mnemonic
For ツイ, imagine a mallet striking a tree and making a sharp 'tsui' sound: tsui -> ツイ, like the crack of wood being hit.