山査子

Japanese

山査子 (sanzashi): the flower of the Chinese hawthorn.

Kanji in this term
山	査	子
さん Grade: 1	さ > ざ Grade: 5	し Grade: 1
on’yomi

Alternative forms

• 山樝子

Etymology

Appears to be from Middle Chinese 山查子 (srɛn dʒa tsi^X, literally “mountain + hawthorn + child, little thing”). The plant itself is native to China.

The modern standard form in Chinese is 山楂 (shānzhā); compare modern Mandarin reading shānzhā, Cantonese saan¹ zaa¹.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) さんざし [sàńzáshí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [sã̠nd͡za̠ɕi]

Noun

山(さん)査(ざ)子(し) or 山査子(サンザシ) • (sanzashi) 

1. a hawthorn
2. (more specifically) Crataegus cuneata: a Chinese hawthorn

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 サンザシ.

Of the two kanji spellings, 山査子 appears to be more common.

References

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