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
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): kùi-hoe

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gui³ huê¹

• Wu (Wiktionary): ²kue-ho

---

• 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/
• Min Nan
  • (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
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: ²kue-ho
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɯe̞³³ ho⁴⁴/

Noun

桂花

1. sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)

Synonyms

• 木樨 (mùxī)

Proper noun

桂花

1. (～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

桂花

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ke̞ːka̠]

Alternative forms

• 桂華 (rare)

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)?}

1. sweet osmanthus
2. 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

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.

Noun

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

1. (euphemistic) the moon