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冬虫夏草 (とうちゅうかそう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

冬とう虫ちゅう夏か草そう

also: ふゆむしなつくさ

と

う

ちゅ

う

か

そ

う

Meanings

1

noun

caterpillar fungus; Cordyceps sinensis

Refers to the fungus that parasitizes insects, especially the species Cordyceps sinensis, valued in traditional Chinese medicine.

冬とう虫ちゅう夏か草そうは漢かん方ぽう薬やくとして珍ちん重ちょうされている。
Caterpillar fungus is highly prized as a traditional Chinese medicine.
チベット高こう原げんで冬とう虫ちゅう

夏か

草そう

が

採さい

取しゅ

さ

れる

。

Caterpillar fungus is harvested on the Tibetan Plateau.

Written forms

冬虫夏草
- とうちゅうかそう
  Standard kanji spelling for the fungus. The reading とうちゅうかそう is the most common.
- ふゆむしなつくさ
  Rare kun'yomi reading; the on'yomi とうちゅうかそう is overwhelmingly more common.
トウチュウカソウ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, often used in scientific or commercial contexts.
ふゆむしなつくさ

Kanji

冬winter
虫insect, bug, temper
夏summer
草grass, weeds, herbs

Etymology

From Chinese 冬蟲夏草 (dōngchóng xiàcǎo), literally 'winter insect, summer grass', describing the fungus's life cycle where it grows from an insect larva.