桂

Stroke order

桂 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 木土土 (DGG), four-corner 4491₄, composition ⿰木圭)

• 𠺺, 溎, 𥉯, 蓕, 𭵣

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 525, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14755
• Dae Jaweon: page 913, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1193, character 5
• Unihan data for U+6842

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kʷeːs) : semantic 木 + phonetic 圭 (OC *kʷeː).

桂

1. osmanthus; sweet osmanthus
2. cassia; Chinese cinnamon

   • 蒙舍蠻以椒、薑、桂和烹而飲之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     蒙舍蛮以椒、姜、桂和烹而饮之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Tang Dynasty, Fan Chuo, Manshu, chapter 7, part 7

     Méngshè Mán yǐ jiāo, jiāng, guì hé pēng ér yǐn zhī. [Pinyin]

     The Mengshe Barbarians use pepper, ginger, and cinnamon to boil as a drink.

3. true cinnamon; Saigon cinnamon; Indonesian cinnamon
4. laurel; bay laurel
5. of or relating to Guilin, Guangxi, or the region of the Gui River
6. a surname

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

1. the katsura, the Japanese Judas tree
2. the cinnamon or cassia tree
3. the sweet osmanthus tree

• Go-on: かい (kai)^{←くわい (kwai, historical)}
• Kan-on: けい (kei)^{←けい (kei, historical)←くゑい (kwei, ancient)}
• Kun: かつら (katsura, 桂); めかつら (mekatsura, 桂)
• Nanori: か (ka); かつ (katsu); よし (yoshi)

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 香 (ka, “fragrance, good smell”) +‎ 出 (zu, “to come out, to put something out”) + ら (ra, nominalizing suffix): "that which puts out a good smell", from the way the wood smells good.

• 楓 (uncommon)

• (Tokyo) かつら [kàtsúrá] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠t͡sɨᵝɾa̠]

桂(かつら) • (katsura) 

1. the katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, also called the Japanese Judas tree
2. less commonly, the smaller Cercidiphyllum magnificum tree, more specifically called the 広葉桂 or ヒロハカツラ (hiroha katsura, “broadleaf katsura”).
3. a tree on the moon, from a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by Lauraceae trees budding, blossoming, then dropping their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons
4. julienned raw daikon, used as a garnish for sashimi
5. alternative word for 肉桂 (nikkei, “the cinnamon or cassia tree”) or 桂皮 (keihi, “cinnamon or cassia bark”)

• 桂男(かつらおとこ) (katsura otoko): the katsura man, a character in the Chinese legend who lives on the moon

桂(かつら) • (Katsura) 

1. a male given name
2. a surname
3. the west bank of the Katsura River in Kyōto

桂（めかつら) mekatsura (Cinnamomum) leaves and fruit

From Old Japanese. Alternative spelling for 女桂 (mekatsura, “female katsura”), an archaic name for the cinnamon tree. Compare 男桂 (okatsura, “male katsura: the katsura tree”). Appears with this reading in the 和名類聚抄 (Wamyō Ruijushō), a Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters completed in 938.

• 女桂(めかつら) (mekatsura)

• IPA^(key): [me̞ka̠t͡sɨᵝɾa̠]

桂(めかつら) • (mekatsura) 

1. the cinnamon tree, or other closely related trees in genus Cinnamomum

• 肉桂(にっけい) (nikkei)

From Middle Chinese 桂 (kweiH).

• (Tokyo) け​ー [kéꜜè] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

桂(けい) • (kei) 

1. the cinnamon or cassia tree
2. common name for various other trees in family Lauraceae
3. in China, the 木犀 (mokusei) or sweet osmanthus tree

• (cinnamon or cassia): 肉桂(にっけい) (nikkei)
• (sweet osmanthus): 木犀(もくせい) (mokusei)

From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees, which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons.

• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

桂(けい) • (kei) 

1. (euphemistic) the moon

• 月(つき) (tsuki)
• 桂花(けいか) (keika)

将棋の桂: shōgi knight

Abbreviation of 桂馬 (keima), the knight in 将棋 (shōgi, “Japanese chess”).

• (Tokyo) けー [kèé] (Heiban – [0])[1]
• (Tokyo) け​ー [kéꜜè] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [ke̞ː]

桂(けい) • (kei) 

1. the knight in 将棋 (shōgi, “Japanese chess”)

• 桂馬(けいま) (keima)

桂 (eumhun 계수나무 계 (gyesunamu gye))

1. Hanja form^? of 계 (“cinnamon”).

桂: Hán Nôm readings: quế

1. cinnamon