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
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)
[蕃茄 | ばんか banka: tomato]
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
形声 Pictophonetic.
艹 (cao3: grass radical 140) suggests the meaning while
加 (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.