also: シャボテン
General term for cactus plants. The word is usually written in katakana.
My grandmother keeps a cactus by the window.
I keep a small cactus by the window.
Cacti don't need much water.
Be careful, cacti have sharp spines.
仙人掌 shares the kanji 仙人 but is simply an ateji spelling for サボテン (cactus) and has no connection to the mystical meaning of 仙人.
book; volume; script · this; present; current; in question · main; head; principal · real; genuine; regular; proper · counter for long cylindrical objects; counter for films, TV shows, etc.; counter for goals, home runs, etc.; counter for telephone calls
Standard katakana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
Older variant reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Rare kanji form; the reading サボテン is a jukujikun.
Rare kanji form; the reading サボテン is a jukujikun.
Commonly explained as a development from Portuguese sabão, “soap,” combined with Japanese 手. The name was first applied to prickly-pear cactus, whose sap was reportedly used for washing, but details of the formation remain disputed.