山葵

Chinese

		mountain; hill	sunflower
trad. (山葵)		山	葵
simp. #(山葵)		山	葵

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 山葵 (wasabi).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shānkuí

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄢ ㄎㄨㄟˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): saan¹ kwai⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shānkuí
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄢ ㄎㄨㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shankuéi
    • Wade–Giles: shan¹-kʻuei²
    • Yale: shān-kwéi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shankwei
    • Palladius: шанькуй (šanʹkuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂän⁵⁵ kʰu̯eɪ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: saan¹ kwai⁴
    • Yale: sāan kwàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: saan¹ kwai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: san¹ kuei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /saːn⁵⁵ kʷʰɐi̯²¹/

Noun

山葵

1. wasabi: the Japanese horseradish (Eutrema japonicum, Wasabia japonica)

Synonyms

• 芥末 (jièmo), 青芥辣, 日本芥辣, 日式芥辣; (Cantonese) 芥辣; (Hong Kong Cantonese) wasabi; (Taiwanese Hokkien) 哇沙米 (oa-sá-bih)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
山	葵
わさび
Grade: 1	Jinmeiyō
jukujikun

Etymology

*/wasapi/ → /wasabi/

First attested in the Honzō Wamyō (918 CE) with this kanji compound and phonetic spelling of 和佐比.

The kanji reflects where the plant was first observed: 山 (yama, “mountains”), and their leaves resembling 葵 (aoi, “hollyhocks”) or 銭葵 (zeniaoi, “mallows”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) わさび [wáꜜsàbì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠sa̠bʲi]

Noun

山葵(わさび) or 山葵(ワサビ) • (wasabi) 

1. the wasabi plant, the Japanese horseradish (Eutrema japonicum)

   Hypernym: 油菜 (aburana)

   • c. 918, 深根輔仁 [Fukane Sukehito], 本草和名 [Japanese Names of Herbs, Honzō Wamyō]:

     山葵　葉似葵、故名之、生深山、出崔禹　竜珠　実名也、出孟詵　和名和佐比

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

1. the stem of the wasabi plant when grated, used as a spice or condiment

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ワサビ.
• Called 本山葵 (hon wasabi) when needed to distinguish it from the derived terms.

Derived terms

• さび (sabi, sushi restaurant shortening)
• 山葵(わさび)の木(き) (wasabi-no-ki, “horseradish tree”, Moringa oleifera)
• 山葵(わさび)下(お)ろし, 山葵(わさび)卸(おろ)し (wasabi-oroshi, “grated wasabi”)
• 山葵(ワサビ)大根(ダイコン) (wasabi daikon), 西洋(セイヨウ)山葵(ワサビ) (seiyō wasabi), 根(ネ)山葵(ワサビ) (ne-wasabi), 山(ヤマ)山葵(ワサビ) (yama wasabi, “horseradish”)
• 山葵(わさび)漬(づけ), 山葵(わさび)漬(づ)け (wasabi-zuke, “pickled wasabi leaves”)
• 山葵(わさび)澄(す)まし (wasabi-sumashi, “grated wasabi mixed with soy sauce and mirin”)
• 山葵(わさび)色(いろ) (wasabi-iro, “wasabi green”)
• 山葵(わさび)醤油(じょうゆ) (wasabi-jōyu, “grated wasabi mixed with soy sauce”)
• 山葵(わさび)餅(もち) (wasabi mochi, “mochi flavored with wasabi”)
• 本(ホン)山葵(ワサビ) (hon wasabi, “true wasabi”)
• 板(いた)山葵(わさ) (itawasa)
• 百合(ユリ)山葵(ワサビ) (yuri wasabi, “Wasabia tenuis”)
• 花(はな)山葵(わさび) (hana wasabi)
• 葉(は)山葵(わさび) (ha-wasabi, “wasabi leaves and stems”)

 

Idioms

• 山葵(わさび)が利(き)く (wasabi ga kiku)

 

Coordinate terms

• 五(ご)菜(さい) (gosai): 韮(にら) (nira), 薤(らっきょう) (rakkyō), 葱(ねぎ) (negi), 山葵(わさび) (wasabi), 藿(まめ) (mame)

Descendants

• → English: wasabi
• → Hokkien: 哇沙米 (oa-sá-bih)
• → Mandarin: 哇沙比 (wāshābǐ)
• → Miyako: 山葵 (wasabi)

References

• Fukane no Sukehito (c. 901–923) Maruyama Yumiko, Wu Qian, editors, Honzō Wamyō: Eiin, Honkoku to Kenkyū) (in Japanese), Kyūko Shoin, published 2021, →ISBN.