木犀

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 木犀 – see 木樨 (“sweet osmanthus; etc.”). (This term is a variant form of 木樨).

Japanese

Kanji in this term
木	犀
もく Grade: 1	せい Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

木犀： 金木犀

Etymology

From Sinitic 木犀 (mùxī).

Noun

木(もく)犀(せい) or 木犀(モクセイ) • (mokusei) 

1. Osmanthus fragrans, variously called the sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, or fragrant olive: an evergreen shrub or small tree of the Oleaceae family, native to Asia

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

• 木犀花(もくせいか) (mokuseika): the flower of the fragrant olive
• 金木犀(きんもくせい) (kinmokusei): orange-blooming variety of the fragrant olive
• 銀木犀(ぎんもくせい) (ginmokusei): white-blooming variety of the fragrant olive

See also

• 丹桂(たんけい) (tankei): golden osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)
• 桂花(けいか) (keika): the orange-blooming variety of Osmanthus fragrans; the flower of the orange-blooming variety