Usage patterns 竹たけ を 割わ る to split a piece of bamboo
The craftsman split bamboo to make a basket.
竹たけ で 〈 物もの 〉 を 作つく る to make something out of bamboo
I made a flute out of bamboo.
〈 物もの 〉 を 竹たけ にする to choose the middle (松竹梅) grade of something
I went with the middle-grade eel bento.
Expressions 竹たけ に 雀すずめ match made in heaven; perfect match; great coupling · family crest with bamboo and sparrow motif 木き に 竹たけ を 接つ ぐ to sew a fox's skin to the lion's; to mix incompatible things 竹たけ を 割わ ったよう clear-cut and straightforward · forward-thinking; honest; upright; frank Related words 竹 is the general word for bamboo, including tall timber species, while 笹 refers specifically to small, low-growing bamboo grass.
Don't confuse with 竹 is mature bamboo, while 筍 refers specifically to the young, still-underground shoot before it grows into 竹 .
竹 is the common word for bamboo and, though pronounced identically as たけ , is unrelated in meaning to 丈 , which means height or length.
Counted with 竹 (individual stalks or poles of bamboo) is counted with 本 , the standard counter for long, cylindrical objects.
Counts planted trees and shrubs at the root — literary; everyday speech usually uses 本 or 株 .
Literary counter for standing trees and plants; everyday speech uses 本 or 株 (かぶ ).
For rooted plants and clumps — garden plants, shrubs, seedlings.
Word family· 73 Show 14 more Show fewer bamboo sword; bamboo imitation sword · dull sword; blunt sword
bamboo work; bamboo ware
bamboo-copter; bamboo dragonfly toy
bamboo fence; bamboo hedge
stilts · hobby horse
cut bamboo
inner bamboo layer of a bow
split bamboo; bamboo slat · noisy bamboo baton (Edo period night watch)
Chinese bamboo; bamboo imported from China · descending vertical sword attack
outer bamboo layer of a bow
Simon bamboo
bamboo growing along a riverbank · Japanese timber bamboo; madake · Simon bamboo · prostitute; life of a prostitute
Japanese timber bamboo; madake · Henon bamboo
dried bamboo; white bamboo
See all 73 in Explore →
Written forms 竹たけ Usage 90%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
たけ Usage 7%
タケ Usage 3%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling used in botanical or scientific contexts, or for emphasis.
Etymology Native Japanese word. The kanji 竹 is a pictograph of bamboo stalks with leaves.
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