also: ことのえ
I compose a poem, putting my feelings into words.
Her words were as beautiful as flowers.
native Japanese word; word of Japanese origin · waka; classic Japanese poem
Standard kanji spelling for this poetic word.
Archaic reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Kana spelling is common in modern usage, especially when the poetic nuance is not emphasized.
Compound of 言 (koto, 'word') + の (no, possessive particle) + 葉 (ha, 'leaf'), literally 'leaves of words'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the metaphor of words as leaves is a common poetic device in classical Japanese.