noun
wood chip; splinter
Small piece or fragment of wood, often a byproduct of cutting or breaking.
床に木っ端が落ちているから気をつけて。
There are wood chips on the floor, so be careful.
大工さんが木っ端を掃除した。
The carpenter cleaned up the wood splinters.
noun, used as a prefix, noun
worthless thing; worthless person
Used as a prefix or standalone noun to disparage something or someone as trivial, insignificant, or of no value. Often in compounds like 木っ端役人 (petty official).
あんな木っ端役人に何がわかる。
What does a petty official like that know?
彼は自分のことを木っ端だと思っている。
He thinks of himself as a nobody.
Irregular okurigana usage; normally read もくへん.
Irregular okurigana usage; normally read きのは or もくよう.
Compound of 木 (wood) and 端 (edge, fragment), with the geminate consonant っ inserted for emphasis. The derogatory sense likely developed from the idea of something being a mere scrap.