餅 means “rice cake”

もち · mochi

Also: mochi rice cake

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

もち, もちい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ヘイ, ヒョウ

Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

Food (食) and a union of forces: 餅 is pounded glutinous rice, stretchy and sacred. At New Year, families gather for mochitsuki, rhythmically pounding rice into soft, chewy 餅 that represents good fortune.

Used in 餅つき (mochitsuki, rice cake pounding) and 大福餅 (daifuku mochi, stuffed mochi)

More from Food & Cooking

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• 揚 deep-fry
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• 炊 cook rice
• 味 taste
• 鍋 pot
• 皿 plate
• 箸 chopsticks

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

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