神木

Chinese

		God; unusual; mysterious God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence; lively; spiritual being	tree; wood
simp. and trad. (神木)		神	木

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shénmù

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san⁴ muk⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sîn-bo̍k

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shénmù
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄨˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shénmù
    • Wade–Giles: shên²-mu⁴
    • Yale: shén-mù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shernmuh
    • Palladius: шэньму (šɛnʹmu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂən³⁵ mu⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: san⁴ muk⁶
    • Yale: sàhn muhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san⁴ muk⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen⁴ mug⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn²¹ mʊk̚²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sîn-bo̍k
    • Tâi-lô: sîn-bo̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sinbok
    • IPA (Xiamen): /sin²⁴⁻²² bɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sin²⁴⁻²² bɔk̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /sin¹³⁻²² bɔk̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sin²⁴⁻¹¹ bɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sin²³⁻³³ bɔk̚⁴/

Noun

神木

1. sacred tree

Proper noun

神木

1. (～市, formerly ～縣) Shenmu (a county-level city and former county of Yulin, Shaanxi, China)

Japanese

Etymology 1

神木 (shinboku, kanki): a sacred tree encircled with a shimenawa belt.

Kanji in this term
神	木
しん Grade: 3	ぼく Grade: 1
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
神木 (kyūjitai)

Possibly from Middle Chinese 神木 (MC zyin muwk, literally “god + tree”). Compare modern Min Nan reading sîn-bo̍k. The Japanese term uses the kan'on, suggesting a later borrowing.

Alternatively, may have been coined in Japan as a compound of Middle Chinese-derived elements, as 神 (shin, “god, spirit”) + 木 (boku, “tree”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しんぼく [shìńbókú] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) しんぼく [shíꜜǹbòkù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɕĩmbo̞kɯ̟]

Noun

神(しん)木(ぼく) • (shinboku) 

1. a sacred or holy tree

Synonyms

• (honorific) 御神木(ごしんぼく) (goshinboku), ご神木(しんぼく) (goshinboku)
• 神樹(しんじゅ) (shinju)
• 霊木(れいぼく) (reiboku)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
神	木
かむ > かん Grade: 3	き Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
神木 (kyūjitai)

/kamuki/ → /kaɴki/

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神 (kamu, “god, spirit”, ancient combining reading) +‎ 木 (ki, “tree”). Appears with the older kamuki phonetic rendering in the Man'yōshū poetry compilation completed in 759 CE.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kã̠ŋʲkʲi]

Noun

神(かん)木(き) • (kanki) 

1. (obsolete) (see shinboku above)

Usage notes

Superseded by the shinboku reading above.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
神	木
さか Grade: 3	き Grade: 1
irregular	kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
神木 (kyūjitai)

Alternative spelling of 榊 (sakaki) as jukujikun (熟字訓), likely based on a partial decomposition of the 榊 character into its 神 and 木 components.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) さかき [sàkákí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [sa̠ka̠kʲi]

Noun

神(さか)木(き) • (sakaki) 

1. (rare) a sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica)