銭苔

Japanese

Kanji in this term
銭	苔
ぜに Grade: 6	こけ > ごけ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
錢苔 (kyūjitai) 地銭

Etymology

Literally, “coin moss”, 銭(ぜに) (zeni, “square-holed coin, money”) + 苔(こけ) (koke, “moss”). The koke changes to goke as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ze̞ɲ̟iɡo̞ke̞]

Noun

銭(ぜに)苔(ごけ) or 銭苔(ゼニゴケ) • (zenigoke) 

1. Marchantia polymorpha, a species of liverwort
2. general term for liverworts of the family Marchantiaceae

Usage notes

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