唐人稗

Japanese

Kanji in this term
唐	人	稗
とう Grade: S	じん Grade: 1	ひえ > びえ Hyōgai
kan'on		kun'yomi

Etymology

Literally, “foreigner's millet”, 唐人(とうじん) (tōjin, “Chinese person, foreigner”) + 稗(ひえ) (hie, “millet”). The hie changes to bie as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [to̞ːʑĩmbʲie̞]

Noun

唐(とう)人(じん)稗(びえ) or 唐人稗(トウジンビエ) • (tōjinbie) 

1. pearl millet, Cenchrus americanus

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).