茨
briar, thorn
Readings
On'yomi
- シ
- ジ
Kun'yomi
- いばら
- かや
- くさぶき
Nanori
- あし
- えばら
- ばら
- まつ
- まん
Meaning
茨 centers on thorny, tangled plants: a briar or thorn bush. The idea is a plant that catches and scratches with sharp points.
Most common words using 茨
- 茨城いばらき
Ibaraki (prefecture)
- 茨いばら
thorny shrub
- 茨城大学いばらきだいがく
Ibaraki University
- 猿捕茨さるとりいばら
Smilax china (species of sarsaparilla)
- 茅茨ぼうし
thatched roof
- 茨だらけいばらだらけ
thorny
- 茨の冠いばらのかんむり
a crown of thorns
- 茨の道いばらのみち
thorny path
- 茨垣いばらがき
thorn hedge
- 茨城キリスト教大学いばらきキリストきょうだいがく
Ibaraki Christian University
- 茨城女子短大いばらきじょしたんだい
Ibaraki Women's Junior College
- 茨城県いばらきけん
Ibaraki prefecture
- 茨城県立医療大学いばらきけんりついりょうだいがく
Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences
- 茨城県立図書館いばらきけんりつとしょかん
Ibaraki Prefectural Library
- 茨城県警いばらきけんけい
Ibaraki Prefectural Police (abbr)
- 茨藻いばらも
spiny water nymph (Najas marina); spiny naiad; holly-leaved naiad
- 茨藻海老いばらもえび
spiny lebbeid (Lebbeus groenlandicus)
- 蛇結茨じゃけついばら
Caesalpinia decapetala var. japonica
Study
Etymology
茨 combines 艹 (grass) with 次, which likely contributes the sound and may suggest a secondary or lesser plant, fitting a thorny weed.
Meaning mnemonic
The grass radical 艹 sits above 次, like a secondary, unwanted plant that grows among crops. Picture a thorny briar that catches you as you walk through the field.
Reading mnemonic
For シ, imagine a sharp thorn making you hiss 'shhh!' in pain: shhh -> シ, and the briar scratches your skin.