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茄 jiā


: phonetic character used in loanwords for the sound “jia”, although 夹 is more common

茄 qiě

noun
: eggplant

Kun Reading

茄 | なす nasu

noun
: eggplant (Solanum melongena); aubergine

On Reading

カ ka

 Usage:

茄克衫 jia1ke4 shan1: jacket
雪茄 xue3 jia1: cigar (loanword)

茄 qie3: eggplant

茄子 qie3zi: eggplant (Solanum melongena L.); aubergine; brinjal; Guinea squash; phonetic “cheese” (when being photographed); equivalent of “say cheese”
[なす nasu | なすび nasubi: eggplant (Solanum melongena); aubergine]
茄科 qie3ke1: Solanaceae (the potato and eggplant family)
[茄子科 | なすか nasuka: Solanaceae (nightshade family of plants)]
茄紅素 [茄红素] qie3 hong2 su4: Lycopene
番茄 OR 蕃茄 fan1qie3: tomato
[蕃茄 | ばんか banka: tomato]
顛[颠]茄 dian1qie3: deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna)

野顛茄 [野颠茄] ye3 dian1qie3: deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna)

玫瑰茄 mei2gui qie3: roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)



Japanese common word | expression | idiom
秋茄子は嫁に食わすな | あきなすはよめにくわすな aki nasu wa yome ni kuwasuna
: don’t feed autumn eggplant to your wife (because they’re too delicious, because they’ll give her the chills, or because their lack of seeds will reduce her fertility)

瓜の蔓に茄子は生らぬ | うりのつるになすびはならぬ uri no tsuru ni nasubi wa naranu
: like begets like

 Etymology:
形声 Pictophonetic.
艹 (cao3: grass radical 140) suggests the meaning while
(jia1: to add) provides the sound.



 Examples:

瓜のつるに茄子はならぬ。
うりのつるになすはならぬ uri no tsuru ni nasu wa naranu
You don’t get eggplants from a gourd vine.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary