also: しよう
noun
branches and leaves; foliage
Literal botanical sense referring to the branches and leaves of a tree or plant.
庭の木の枝葉が伸びすぎたので、剪定した。
The branches and leaves of the garden tree had grown too much, so I pruned them.
noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
unimportant details; nonessentials; side issue
Figurative use referring to minor or peripheral matters, often contrasted with the main point. The reading しよう is especially associated with this sense, as in the compound 枝葉末節.
See also: 枝葉末節
会議では枝葉の議論に時間を取られて、本題に入れなかった。
In the meeting, we got caught up in side issues and couldn't get to the main topic.
枝葉末節にこだわらず、本質を見極めよう。
Let's focus on the essence without getting hung up on trivial details.
Rare reading used mainly in the figurative sense, especially in the compound 枝葉末節.
A four-character compound that explicitly means 'trivial details' or 'minor points,' using the same figurative sense of 枝葉.
Compound of 枝 (branch) and 葉 (leaf). The figurative sense of 'unimportant details' derives from the idea that branches and leaves are peripheral compared to the trunk or root.