トウモロコシ

と

う

も

ろ

こ

し

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

corn; maize

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the plant Zea mays and its edible kernels. Commonly used in food contexts.

夏なつになるとトウモロコシが美味おいしい。

Corn is delicious in the summer.

畑はたけでトウモロコシを育そだてている。

I'm growing corn in the field.

Usage patterns

トウモロコシを茹ゆでるto boil corn
夕ゆう食しょくのためにトウモロコシを茹ゆでた。
I boiled some corn for dinner.
トウモロコシの皮かわをむくto husk corn (remove the outer leaves)
母ははがトウモロコシの皮かわをむいている。
My mother is husking the corn.
トウモロコシを収しゅう穫かくするto harvest corn
秋あきになるとトウモロコシを収しゅう穫かくする。
When autumn comes, we harvest the corn.

Kanji

玉jewel, ball
蜀green caterpillar, Szechwan
黍millet

Related words

コーン
トウモロコシ is the standard Japanese-origin term for corn as a plant or vegetable, while コーン is the English loanword commonly used on menus and for processed forms like canned or creamed corn.

Counted with

本ほんN5
Used for whole ears of corn, e.g. とうもろこし1本 for one ear.
粒つぶN2
粒 counts individual kernels of corn (とうもろこし).

Written forms

トウモロコシUsage63%
kana-only spelling
Standard katakana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
とうもろこしUsage35%
Hiragana spelling, also common.
玉蜀黍とうもろこしUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; mainly encountered in botanical or historical contexts.

Etymology

The word is of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a compound of native Japanese elements. The kanji spelling 玉蜀黍 is an ateji (phonetic) assignment from Chinese.