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ヤナギ

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Willow

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FromOld Japanese. Cognate withKunigami柳(yanāji),Miyako柳(yanagzï),Okinawan柳(yanaji) (likely all early borrowings from Middle Japanese).

The ultimate derivation is uncertain, with several theories presented in reference works. Some of the main theories:

• Appears to be derived from a compound, possibly矢(ya,“arrow”) +‎な(na,Old Japaneseapophonic form of possessive particleの(no)) +‎木(ki,“tree”).^[1] Theki changes togi as an instance ofrendaku (連(れん)濁(だく)).
• Alternatively, theya might be from the字音(jion,“characterreading”) ofMiddle Chinese楊 (MC yang, “willow”) +Japanese木(ki,“tree”).^[1]

Considering the existence of synonymous formやぎ(yagi) that appears in certain compounds, the medialna element is likely the particle.

First cited to roughly 759CE, in theMan'yōshū collection of poetry with the phoneticMan'yōgana spelling也奈宜.^[1]

• (Tokyo)やなぎ[yànágí] (Heiban – [0])^[2] – for the noun
• (Tokyo)やなぎ[yáꜜnàgì] (Atamadaka – [1]) – for the surname
• IPA^(key): [ja̠na̠ɡʲi]

やなぎorヤナギ• (yanagi) 

1. 柳,楊,楊柳:[circa 759] awillowtree
2. 柳,楊柳:[999] astyle of襲の色目(kasane no irome,“colorcombination bylayering ofgarments”), withwhite on thefront andgreenish-blue(oryellowish-green) on theback
3. 柳,楊柳:short for柳色(yanagi-iro): adarkyellow-greencolor, as from a willowleaf
4. 柳:
5. (card games, hanafuda) The willow orrainsuit in ahanafudadeck, representing the month ofNovember and the numbereleven in most of Japan (June andsix in虫花(mushibana) decks,February andtwo in games from theNagoya region, andDecember andtwelve inKorea)

   Synonym:雨(ame,“rain”)

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is oftenspelled inkatakana, especially inbiological contexts (where katakana is customary), asヤナギ(yanagi). As a hanafuda term, it is typically written in kanji, as 柳.
• In some compounds,yanagi becomesyagi. See that entry for fuller details:やぎ.

• 柳(やなぎ)は緑(みどり)花(はな)は紅(くれない)(yanagi wa midori hana wa kurenai,“willows are green, flowers are red”)

Hanafuda suits in Japanese ·花札のスート(hanafuda no sūto)(layout ·text)
1月(ichigatsu)	2月(nigatsu)	3月(sangatsu)	4月(shigatsu)	5月(gogatsu)	6月(rokugatsu)
松(matsu)	梅(ume)	桜(sakura)	藤(fuji) 黒豆(kuromame)	菖蒲(ayame, shōbu) 杜若(kakitsubata)	牡丹(botan)
7月(shichigatsu)	8月(hachigatsu)	9月(kugatsu)	10月(jūgatsu)	11月(jūichigatsu)	12月(jūnigatsu)
萩(hagi) 赤豆(akamame)	芒(susuki) 坊主(bōzu)	菊(kiku)	紅葉(momiji)	柳(yanagi) 雨(ame)	桐(kiri)

やなぎ• (Yanagi) 

1. 柳:asurname

• Japanese terms inherited from Old Japanese
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• ja:Card games
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• ja:Willows and poplars
• ja:Trees
• ja:Colors

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