もみの木き

Meanings

Japanese fir; momi fir

Refers specifically to the tree species Abies firma, a large evergreen fir native to Japan. The phrase is literally 'momi tree', where もみ is the tree name and の木 means 'tree of'.

Kanji

木tree, wood
樅fir

Related words

もみ
もみ is the name of the tree itself (Abies firma), while もみの木 explicitly includes 'tree' and is the more common way to refer to the tree in everyday speech.

Written forms

もみの木き
Standard mixed kana-kanji spelling; the most common written form.
モミの木き
Katakana spelling for the plant name, often used in botanical contexts or for emphasis.
樅もみの木き
Kanji spelling using 樅, which is not a jōyō kanji; rarely used in modern writing.
モミノキ
kana-only spelling
All-katakana form; included as a search variant, but not a common practical spelling.

Etymology

The word もみ is of native Japanese origin, referring to the fir tree. The exact derivation is uncertain. The form もみの木 is a compound of もみ + possessive particle の + 木 (tree).