Japanese Symbol for
月tsuki
moon · month · Monday
Readings
Meaning
Moon, month. 月 is one of the most versatile and evocative kanji. It means both the moon and a month of the year, and gives Monday its name — 月曜日 (getsuyōbi, "moon day"). The character depicts a crescent moon.
Example words
月曜日
getsuyōbi
Monday (moon day)
満月
mangetsu
full moon
三日月
mikazuki
crescent moon (three-day moon)
月見
tsukimi
moon viewing
月光
gekkō
moonlight
月並み
tsukinami
commonplace, ordinary (monthly = repetitive)
お月見 (o-tsukimi — moon viewing) is held on the 15th night of the 8th lunar month (mid-autumn). Families arrange 月見団子 (tsukimi dango — rice dumplings) and pampas grass to view the harvest moon. Matsuo Bashō's most famous haiku — 古池や蛙飛び込む水の音 — evokes the stillness of moonlit nights.
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