菊 means “chrysanthemum”

きく · kiku

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キク

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

Grass (艹) over rice (米) gathered in a curled hand (勹): petals packed tight as grains. The chrysanthemum is the imperial crest, a sixteen-petal 菊 marks the cover of every Japanese passport, and autumn shows fill shrines with 菊.

Used in 菊 (kiku, chrysanthemum), 菊花 (kikka, chrysanthemum flower), and 菊人形 (kiku ningyou, chrysanthemum doll)

More from Trees & Blossoms

• 梨 pear
• 葛 kudzu
• 桑 mulberry
• 柿 persimmon
• 桃 peach
• 茎 stem
• 萎 wilt
• 藤 wisteria
• 松 pine
• 芝 lawn
• 杉 Japanese cedar
• 柳 willow

Learn 菊 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.