cereals, grain
穀 centers on staple food grains: cereals and grain crops. It refers to the harvested seeds that form the basis of many diets.
穀 combines 殳 (a hand holding a tool) with a left side that historically relates to grain or crops. The exact development of the left component is uncertain, but the character is associated with harvested grain.
The left side looks like a plant with a protective cover (士 and 冖) over grains (禾), while the right side 殳 suggests a tool used to harvest or process them. Together, 穀 is grain.
For コク, imagine a cook preparing a big pot of grain: cook -> コク, and the cook uses a tool (殳) to stir the grains.
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grain; cereal; corn
assorted grains; cereals
grains
threshing (e.g. rice)
huge harvest (of the five grains); bumper crop; abundant crop
the five grains (wheat, rice, beans, millet (awa and kibi))
good-for-nothing; parasite; deadbeat; loafer; drone; idler
rice
granary
the nine grains
love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus); tassel flower; velvet flower; foxtail amaranth
whole grains
new grain
old grain
sago (edible sago palm starch)
Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella); indianmeal moth; pantry moth; North American high-flyer
rice
cereal crops
price of grain
grain-producing region