叉
fork in road, crotch
Readings
On'yomi
- サ
- シャ
- サイ
Kun'yomi
- また
Meaning
叉 centers on a branching point where something splits into two: a fork in a road or the crotch where the legs divide.
Most common words using 叉
20 of 34- 叉焼チャーシュー
roasted pork fillet (often used in ramen)
- 夜叉やしゃ
yaksha (Buddhist guardian deities sometimes depicted as demonic warriors)
- 音叉おんさ
tuning fork
- 三叉路さんさろ
three-way junction; three-way intersection
- 三仙叉さんせんさ
trident dagger
- 三叉戟さんさげき
trident
- 三叉槍さんさそう
trident
- 三叉神経さんさしんけい
trigeminal nerve
- 三叉神経痛さんさしんけいつう
trigeminal neuralgia; tic douloureux
- 五叉路ごさろ
five-forked road; five-road junction
- 叉手網さであみ
dip net; scoop net
- 叉焼包チャーシューバオ
cha siu bao; Cantonese barbeque pork bun
- 叉状さじょう
forked; branched; dichotomous; furcate
- 叉銃さじゅう
stacked arms
- 叉骨さこつ
furcula; furculum
- 夜叉五倍子やしゃぶし
Alnus firma (species of alder)
- 式叉摩那しきしゃまな
probationary nun (undergoing a two-year probationary period before receiving ordainment)
- 木の叉きのまた
crotch of a tree
- 桧葉叉ひばまた
Arctic wrack (Fucus evanescens)
- 波羅提木叉はらだいもくしゃ
pratimokṣa; pratimoksha; rules governing the behaviour of Buddhist monks and nuns
Study
Etymology
叉 is a pictograph of a hand with fingers spread into a V-shape, representing a fork or branching point. The modern form preserves the hand shape 又 with a dot 丶 emphasizing the split.
Meaning mnemonic
The shape 又 looks like a hand, and the dot 丶 marks the point where the fingers split apart. Picture a hand making a V-sign at a fork in the road.
Reading mnemonic
For サ, imagine standing at a fork in the road under the hot sun: sun -> サ, and you must choose which path to take.