敷しき居い

し

き

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

threshold; sill

architecture

Specifically the grooved threshold for sliding doors in traditional Japanese architecture. Often contrasted with 鴨居 (kamoi, the upper lintel).

Written forms

敷しき居いUsage63%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency and priority-tagged.
しきUsage27%
閾Usage5%
- しきい
  Rare kanji form; also has readings しきみ and しき. Mainly encountered in older or technical texts.
- しき
- しきみ
しきいUsage5%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
しきみ

Kanji

敷spread, pave, sit
居reside, to be, exist
閾threshold

Similar words

鴨かも居い
鴨居 is the upper lintel or head jamb for sliding doors, while 敷居 is the lower grooved threshold.

Etymology

Compound of 敷 (shiki, 'spread, lay') + 居 (i, 'seat, being'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the idea of a laid base or sill.