Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 に 堆たい 肥ひ をまく to spread compost on a field/garden
I spread compost on the field before sowing the seeds.
堆たい 肥ひ を 作つく る to make compost
I'm making compost using fallen leaves.
〈 物もの 〉 を 堆たい 肥ひ にする to turn something into compost
More households are turning kitchen scraps into compost.
Kanji 肥 fertilizer, get fat, fertile Related words 肥料 is the general word for any fertilizer, including chemical products, while 堆肥 refers specifically to organic compost.
厩肥 is manure specifically from livestock barns, whereas 堆肥 is the broader term for any composted organic matter.
堆肥 is the native Japanese term for composted fertilizer, while コンポスト is the katakana word typically used for home/garden composting and the compost bin itself.
堆肥 refers narrowly to composted organic matter, whereas 肥やし is broader and can also mean raw manure or night soil.
堆肥 refers to compost made from decomposed organic matter, whereas 肥 more directly denotes animal or human excrement used as fertilizer.
Word family composting
fully matured compost
Written forms 堆たい 肥ひ Usage 79%
Standard kanji spelling, widely used in agriculture and gardening contexts.
たい 肥ひ Usage 20%
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen in informal or educational materials.
たいひ Usage 1%
Etymology Compound of 堆 (たい , 'heap, pile') and 肥 (ひ , 'fertilizer, manure'), literally 'piled fertilizer'. The term reflects the traditional method of piling organic waste to decompose into compost.
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