小松菜

Japanese

Kanji in this term
小	松	菜
こ Grade: 1	まつ Grade: 4	な Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Etymology

From 小松(こまつ) (komatsu, “Komatsu”) + 菜(な) (na, “vegetable”). Said to be named after 小松川 (Komatsugawa, literally “Komatsu River”), an area in Tōkyō.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こまつな [kòmátsúná] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ma̠t͡sɨna̠]

Noun

小(こ)松(まつ)菜(な) or 小松菜(コマツナ) • (komatsuna) 

1. komatsuna, Japanese mustard spinach

Usage notes

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