花

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 春に花が咲きます。▶ —
   Flowers bloom in spring.
2. お花見に行きませんか。▶ —
   Shall we go cherry-blossom viewing?

Collocations

Mnemonic

はな — 花, Yamato. The homophone 鼻 hana-nose lives in a separate slug — hana-flower / hana-nose. A single character calls a whole season — お花見 ohanami: the spring ritual of going out to look at 桜 (cherry blossoms), a season-signature of Japanese culture. 花火 hanabi (fire-flower = fireworks): the summer's signature. 花束 hanataba (bouquet), 花言葉 hanakotoba (the 'language of flowers', a Victorian-English system that Japan imported in the 19th century). The metaphor reaches further — 言葉の花 (flowers of words = poetry, literature), 花も実もある (a thing that has both flower and fruit = substance and beauty together). Inside this one character live the aesthetics and the four seasons of Japan.

Quick check

1. Meaning of the idiom 花も実もある?

   • Both beautiful and substantive (a balanced person or work)
   • Garden full of flowers
   • Good harvest
   • Plant with both flower and fruit