also: こそう
dry grass; dead grass; hay; withered grass
Refers to grass that has dried out or withered, often in fields or as fodder. The gloss 'hay' applies when used as animal feed.
庭の枯れ草を集めて燃やした。
I gathered the dead grass in the garden and burned it.
冬の牧場には枯れ草しかない。
In the winter pasture, there is only withered grass.
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
Less common variant; also has the rare reading こそう.
Rare on'yomi reading; mainly encountered in classical or technical contexts.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling, sometimes used for readability.
Compound of 枯れ (kare, 'withered', the stem of 枯れる) + 草 (kusa, 'grass'). The reading こそう is the on'yomi of the kanji 枯草.