肥
fertilizer, get fat, fertile, manure, pamper
Readings
On'yomi
- ヒ
Kun'yomi
- こ.える
- こえ
- こ.やす
- こ.やし
- ふと.る
Nanori
- い
- こい
- ひえ
Meaning
肥 centers on adding substance to make something rich or plump: fertilizing soil to make it fertile, fattening livestock, or pampering someone into softness. The manure sense is a natural extension as the material used for fertilizing.
Most common words using 肥
20 of 123- 肥料ひりょうN1
manure; fertilizer; fertiliser; compost
- 肥満ひまんN2
corpulence; fatness; obesity
- 肥大ひだい
swelling; enlargement; becoming fat
- 肥えるこえるN1
to grow fat; to gain weight; to put on weight
- 堆肥たいひ
compost; manure
- 肥やしこやし
manure; night soil; dung; fertiliser; fertilizer
- 肥こえ
manure; night soil; dung; fertiliser; fertilizer
- 肥後ひご
Higo (former province located in present-day Kumamoto Prefecture)
- 肥沃ひよく
fertile; rich; productive
- 肥前ひぜん
Hizen (former province located in present-day Saga and Nagasaki prefectures, excluding Tsushima and Oki Islands)
- 肥育ひいく
fattening (cattle, pigs, etc.)
- 肥溜めこえだめ
tank for holding human waste (used for fertilizer); night-soil reservoir; cesspool; cesspit
- 肥やすこやす
to fertilize; to fertilise; to manure; to enrich
- 肥厚ひこう
thickening (of organic tissue, e.g. skin); hypertrophy
- 施肥せひ
manuring; fertilization; fertilisation
- 求肥ぎゅうひ
gyūhi; soft Japanese confectionery made with rice flour, somewhat similar to Turkish delight
- 化学肥料かがくひりょう
chemical fertilizer; chemical fertiliser
- 前立腺肥大症ぜんりつせんひだいしょう
enlargement of the prostate
- 有機肥料ゆうきひりょう
organic fertilizer; organic fertiliser
- 追肥ついひ
(adding) extra fertilizer or manure (fertiliser)
Study
Etymology
肥 combines ⺼ (flesh/meat) with 巴, which likely contributes the sound and may suggest plumpness or curling fullness. The exact origin of 巴 in this context is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side ⺼ is flesh, and the right side 巴 looks like a plump, curled shape. Picture rich, curled flesh being pampered and fattened with fertilizer.
Reading mnemonic
For ヒ, imagine a heap of manure steaming in the sun: heap -> ヒ, and the heap makes the soil fertile.