羅ら宇う

also: ラオ

ラ

ウ

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

bamboo stem of a Japanese pipe

Refers specifically to the bamboo tube that forms the stem of a traditional Japanese smoking pipe (kiseru).

煙管きせるの羅ら宇うが折おれてしまった。
The bamboo stem of the kiseru broke.
この羅ら宇うは煤すす竹たけでできている。
This bamboo stem is made of smoked bamboo.

See all 5 example sentences ›

Kanji

羅gauze, thin silk, Rome
宇eaves, roof, house

Don't confuse with

キセル
羅宇 is only the bamboo stem of a kiseru pipe, while 煙管 refers to the whole pipe, including the metal bowl and mouthpiece.

Counted with

本ほんN5
Used because 羅宇 (the bamboo stem of a pipe) is long and thin, like other items counted with 本.

Written forms

羅宇Usage4%
- ラウ
  Standard kanji spelling for the bamboo stem of a Japanese pipe.
- ラオ
ラオUsage60%
Alternate reading; less common than ラウ.
ラウUsage35%
Katakana spelling is common in practice, especially in contexts where the kanji is obscure.

Etymology

The kanji 羅宇 are ateji (phonetic equivalents) for the reading ラウ, which may derive from a Chinese or Southeast Asian word for a type of bamboo or tube. The exact origin is uncertain.