蕗
butterbur, bog rhubarb
Readings
On'yomi
- ロ
- ル
Kun'yomi
- ふき
Meaning
蕗 refers to a specific plant: butterbur or bog rhubarb. The meaning is narrow and botanical, without a broader abstract center.
Most common words using 蕗
- 蕗ふき
giant butterbur (Petasites japonicus); Japanese sweet coltsfoot
- 伽羅蕗きゃらぶき
stalks of butterbur boiled in soy sauce
- 山蕗やまぶき
wild giant butterbur
- 玉蕗たまぶき
Parasenecio farfarifolius var. bulbifer (variety of Indian plantain)
- 石蕗つわぶき
leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum); Japanese silverleaf
- 秋田蕗あきたぶき
Japanese butterbur (Petasites japonicus subsp. giganteus)
- 蕗の薹ふきのとう
edible flower bud of a giant butterbur plant
- 蕗草ろそう
liquorice; licorice
- 蕗雪の下ふきゆきのした
Saxifraga japonica (species of saxifrage)
- 野蕗のぶき
Adenocaulon himalaicum (species of flowering plant)
Study
Etymology
蕗 combines the grass radical 艹 with 路, which likely contributes the sound. The character was created to name the butterbur plant.
Meaning mnemonic
The grass radical 艹 sits above 路, like a plant growing along a path. Picture butterbur leaves lining a roadside.
Reading mnemonic
For ロ, imagine a row of butterbur plants growing low along the path: row -> ロ, and the low plants line the road.