星
ほし
hepburn hoshi
star
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 夜空に星がきれいです。The stars are beautiful in the night sky.
- 彼はスポーツ界のスターです。He's a star in the sports world.
Collocations
星 (hoshi, star)星座 (seiza, constellation)スター (sutaa, star — loanword for celebrity)星占い (hoshi uranai, astrology)七夕 (tanabata, Star Festival — July 7)
Mnemonic
星 hoshi — heavenly star plus figurative "celebrity / star". Onyomi せい (sei): 星座 (seiza, constellation), 火星 (Mars), 金星 (Venus), 惑星 (planet). 七夕 (tanabata) on July 7 is Japan's star festival, where the Cowherd/Weaver legend is celebrated by hanging 短冊 (tanzaku, wish papers) on 笹竹 (sasatake, bamboo grass) — a religious/folk vocabulary cluster. The loanword スター (sutaa) handles celebrity sense; native 星 stays in astronomy and astrology. Extensions: 流れ星 (nagareboshi, shooting star).
Quick check
Core ritual of Japan's 七夕 star festival?