荏
bean, perilla, herb, soft, pliable
Readings
On'yomi
- ジン
- ニン
Kun'yomi
—
Nanori
- え
Meaning
荏 centers on softness and pliability, applied to plants like beans and perilla herbs. The meanings connect through the idea of tender, yielding vegetation.
Most common words using 荏
- 荏胡麻えごま
wild sesame (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens); oilseed perilla; egoma
- 毒荏どくえ
Japanese tungoil tree (Vernicia cordata)
- 荏え
egoma (type of perilla); Perilla frutescens var. frutescens
- 荏の油えのあぶら
perilla oil
- 荏原製作所えばらせいさくしょ
Ebara Corporation
- 荏原製作所えばらせいさくじょ
Ebara Corporation
- 荏苒じんぜん
procrastinatingly; dillydallying
Study
Etymology
荏 combines the grass radical 艹 with 任, which likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development of the meaning 'soft' or 'bean' is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The grass radical 艹 sits above 任, like a soft, pliable herb entrusted to the earth. Picture a tender bean plant bending gently under its own weight.
Reading mnemonic
For ジン, imagine a soft bean plant infused with the essence of gin: gin -> ジン, and the herb becomes pliable and aromatic.