松竹梅

Chinese

		pine	bamboo	plum flower
trad. (松竹梅)		松	竹	梅
simp. #(松竹梅)		松	竹	梅

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sōngzhúméi

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄨㄥ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄟˊ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sōngzhúméi
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄨㄥ ㄓㄨˊ ㄇㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: songjhúméi
    • Wade–Giles: sung¹-chu²-mei²
    • Yale: sūng-jú-méi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: songjwumei
    • Palladius: сунчжумэй (sunčžumɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sʊŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ meɪ̯³⁵/

Noun

松竹梅

1. pine, bamboo and plum, the three plants which do not wither in winter; the Three Friends of Winter; symbols of resilience and perseverance

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (松竹梅):

• → Japanese: 松竹梅(しょうちくばい) (shōchikubai)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
松	竹	梅
しょう Grade: 4	ちく Grade: 1	ばい Grade: 4
kan’on

Alternative spelling
松竹梅 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Ultimately from Middle Chinese 松竹梅 (MC zjowng trjuwk mwoj). First cited to a text from 1359.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しょーちく​ばい [shòóchíkúꜜbàì] (Nakadaka – [4])
• (Tokyo) しょーち​くばい [shòóchíꜜkùbàì] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːt͡ɕikɯ̟ᵝba̠i]

Noun

松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) • (shōchikubai) 

1. the pine, bamboo, and plum as a set; the three auspicious symbols of the Japanese New Year

   the pine represents strength, the bamboo represents longevity, and the plum represents beauty and optimism

2. a three-rank system based on grades or classes of certain items

See also

• 歳(さい)寒(かん)三(さん)友(ゆう) (Saikan San'yū, “Three Friends of Winter”): 松(しょう) (shō, “pine”), 竹(ちく) (chiku, “bamboo”), 梅(ばい) (bai, “plum”)
• 松竹梅(しょうちくばい) (shōchikubai) ranking system: 松(まつ) (matsu, “pine”, the top rank), 竹(たけ) (take, “bamboo”, the middle rank), 梅(うめ) (ume, “plum”, the lowest rank)

Proper noun

松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) • (Shōchikubai) 

1. name of a late-Edo period 箏曲 (sōkyoku, “koto song”)
2. name of various 長唄 (nagauta)
3. name of a 河東節 (katō-bushi) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
4. name of a rakugo
5. name of a brand of sake (branded as “Sho Chiku Bai” in English)