カキ

カ

キ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

oyster

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the shellfish; also used for the shell itself in contexts like oyster shell powder.

冬ふゆのカキは特とくに美味おいしい。
Oysters are especially delicious in winter.
カキの殻からをリサイクルする。
Recycle oyster shells.

See all 18 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉〉が牡蠣かきにあたるto get food poisoning from (bad) oysters
生なま牡蠣がきにあたってお腹なかを壊こわした。
I got food poisoning from raw oysters and had stomach trouble.
牡蠣かきを剥むくto shuck an oyster
漁りょう師しが手て際ぎわよく牡蠣かきを剥むいていた。
The fisherman skillfully shucked the oysters.
牡蠣かきを養殖ようしょくするto farm/cultivate oysters
この湾わんでは牡蠣かきを養よう殖しょくしている。
Oysters are farmed in this bay.

Kanji

牡male
蠣oyster
蛎oyster
硴oyster, (kokuji)

Don't confuse with

柿かきN1
牡蠣 (the oyster) and 柿 (the persimmon fruit) are pronounced identically as かき but written with completely different kanji and refer to unrelated things.

Counted with

個こN5
counter for small objects; counter for pieces · counter for military units · individual; one person · counter for years of age difference; counter for school years

Word family· 9

岩いわ牡蠣がき
Iwagaki oyster; Crassostrea nippona
ケガキ
spiny oyster; Saccostrea kegaki
牡蠣かき灰ばい
oyster shell lime
牡蠣かき飯めし
oyster rice; rice cooked with oysters
生なま牡蠣がき
raw oyster

Show 4 more

マガキ
Pacific oyster
種たね牡蠣がき
seed oyster
焼やき牡蠣がき
grilled oysters in the shell
カキフライ
fried oysters; deep-fried oysters

Written forms

カキUsage46%
kana-only spelling
Most common spelling in everyday use; katakana is typical for this word.
牡蠣Usage41%
- かき
  Standard kanji form, but the word is usually written in kana.
- ぼれい
かきUsage11%
Hiragana spelling, also common.
牡蛎Usage1%
- かき
  Variant kanji form; less common than 牡蠣.
- ぼれい
蠣かきUsage1%
Abbreviated kanji form; rarely used.
硴かき
Obscure variant; not in common use.
ぼれい

Etymology

The origin is uncertain, but the word is native Japanese. The kanji 牡蠣 are Chinese characters used for their meaning, not phonetic value.