松竹梅

Pronunciation

Noun

松竹梅

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

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 松竹梅 (MC zɨoŋ ʈɨuk̚ muʌi). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Transmitted to Japan during the Nara period.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) しょーちく​ばい [shòóchíkúꜜbàì] (Nakadaka – [4])^[1]
  • (Tokyo) しょーち​くばい [shòóchíꜜkùbàì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[1]
  • IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːt͡ɕikɯ̟ᵝba̠i]

Noun

松竹梅 (hiragana しょうちくばい, rōmaji 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
3. waiting too long in an 鰻屋 (unagi-ya, “eel restaurant”) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

See also

• 歳寒三友 (さいかんさんゆう) (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

松竹梅 (hiragana しょうちくばい, rōmaji 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 ("Sho Chiku Bai" in English)

References

Further reading

• 松竹梅 on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Sho Chiku Bai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia