桂花

Chinese

		Cinnamomum cassia; Guangxi Autonomous Region (abbrev.)	flower; blossom; to spend flower; blossom; to spend; fancy pattern
trad. (桂花)		桂	花
simp. ^#(桂花)		桂	花

Etymology

Adaptation of 桂 (guì) to distinguish the osmanthus from the 肉桂 (ròuguì, “cassia; Chinese cinnamon”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): guìhuā

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄟˋ ㄏㄨㄚ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gwai³ faa¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): kui-fâ

(Hailu, HRS): gui^ˇ fa^ˋ

(Meixian, Guangdong): gui⁴ fa¹
Eastern Min (BUC): gié-huă
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): ge⁴ hua¹
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kùi-hoe

(Teochew, Peng'im): gui³ huê¹
Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁵kue-ho / ¹kue₅-ho₁

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: guìhuā
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄟˋ ㄏㄨㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: guèihua
  - Wade–Giles: kuei⁴-hua¹
  - Yale: gwèi-hwā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gueyhua
  - Palladius: гуйхуа (gujxua)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯eɪ̯⁵¹ xu̯ä⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gwai³ faa¹
  - Yale: gwai fā
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gwai³ faa¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: guei³ fa¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷɐi̯³³ faː⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kui-fâ
  - Hakka Romanization System: gui fa^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gui⁴ fa¹
  - Sinological IPA: /ku̯i⁵⁵ fa²⁴/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: gui^ˇ fa^ˋ
  - Sinological IPA: /kui¹¹ fa⁵³/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: gui⁴ fa¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kuɪ⁵³ fa⁴⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gié-huă
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kie²¹³⁻⁵⁵ ^(h-)ua⁵⁵/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: ge⁴ hua¹ [Phonetic: ge¹ ua¹]
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: ga̤̍-hua
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ke⁴²⁻⁵⁵ ^(h-)ua⁵³³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: ge⁴ hua¹ [Phonetic: ge¹ ua¹]
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ke⁴²⁻⁵⁵ ^(h-)ua⁵⁴⁴/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kùi-hoe
  - Tâi-lô: kuì-hue
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kuie'hoef
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kui²¹⁻⁵³ hue⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kui⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ hue³³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /kui²¹⁻⁵³ hue⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kui¹¹⁻⁵³ hue⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /kui²¹⁻⁴¹ hue⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: gui³ huê¹
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kùi hue
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kui²¹³⁻⁵⁵ hue³³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵kue-ho
  - MiniDict: kue^去 ho
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²kue-ho
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kue³³ ho⁴⁴/
- (Northern: Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ¹kue₅-ho₁
  - MiniDict: kue^去 ho^平
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /kue⁴⁴ ho/

Noun

桂花

sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)

Synonyms

木樨 (mùxī)

Proper noun

桂花

(～村) Guihua (a village in Zhonglu, Lichuan, Enshi prefecture, Hubei, China)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
桂	花
けい Jinmeiyō	か Grade: 1
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
桂華 (rare)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ke̞ːka̠]

Etymology 1

*/kweːkwa/ → /keːkwa/ → /keːka/

From Middle Chinese compound 桂花 (kuei^H xwæ, literally “cassia; osmanthus + flower”). Compare modern Min Nan reading kùi-hoe.

Noun

桂(けい)花(か) • (keika) ^{←けいくわ (keikwa)^?}

sweet osmanthus
the flowers of the sweet osmanthus

Usage notes

The term 桂花 is generally reserved for compounds. The tree and the flowers are usually distinguished within Japan between the white-blossoming 銀木犀 (ginmokusei, “silver osmanthus”) and the orange-blossoming 金木犀 (kinmokusei, “gold osmanthus”), with the latter being more popular.

Synonyms

金木犀(きんもくせい) (kinmokusei): gold osmanthus
銀木犀(ぎんもくせい) (ginmokusei): silver osmanthus
木犀(もくせい) (mokusei): Osmanthus fragrans in general

Derived terms

桂花茶(けいかちゃ) (keikacha): sweet osmanthus tea, a tea flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms
桂花醤(けいかしょう) (keikashō): sweet osmanthus sauce, a sweet sauce flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms
桂花陳酒(けいかちんしゅ) (keika chinshu): sweet osmanthus wine, an aged white wine flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms

Etymology 2

From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees (桂, general name for Lauraceae and other fragrant trees), which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons. Literally, “kei flower”, likening the phases of the moon to the budding and blooming of the trees.^[1]

Noun

桂(けい)花(か) • (keika) ^{←けいくわ (keikwa)^?}

(euphemistic) the moon

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

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