いかだ

い

か

だ

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

raft

usually written using kana alone

A flat structure made of logs, bamboo, or other materials tied together, used as a boat or for floating on water.

川かわをいかだで下くだる。
Go down the river on a raft.
彼かれらは丸まる太たを組くんでいかだを作つくった。
They built a raft by tying logs together.

noun

forearm guard (made of thin metal plates)

Historical armor piece; thin metal plates worn on the forearm for protection. Rarely encountered outside historical or martial contexts.

甲冑かっちゅうの一いち部ぶとして、いかだを腕うでに装そう着ちゃくした。
As part of the armor, they wore forearm guards on their arms.

noun

skewered baby-eel kabayaki

food / cooking

A food item consisting of several small eels skewered together and grilled in kabayaki style, resembling a raft. Used in culinary contexts.

Kanji

筏raft
桴drumstick, raft

Related words

ラフト
いかだ is the native Japanese word for a raft, often a traditional wooden one, while ラフト is a loanword used mainly for modern inflatable rafts in recreational contexts like river rafting.

Word family

ナギイカダ
butcher's broom
筏いかだ師し
raftsman; rafter
花はな筏いかだ
floral raft; flower petals floating on water · Helwingia japonica (shrub) · oily perfume used under white makeup (archaic)
筏いかだ乗のり
raftsman; rafter
筏いかだ流ながし
timber rafting; floating bound logs downstream

Written forms

いかだUsage20%
Usually written in kana; the kanji 筏 is also used but less common.
筏いかだUsage69%
Kanji form, less common than kana. The reading いかだ is standard.
イカダUsage11%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in technical contexts.
桴いかだ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form for raft.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The word いかだ has been used since Old Japanese to mean a raft. The kanji 筏 is a phono-semantic compound, but the exact derivation of the Japanese word is unclear.