果 - The FRUIT Has Come To Fruition

Readings & Meanings:

カ

か（たす）

は（てる）

くだ

fruit, end, result

Common Usage:

果たす

果たして

果て

果物

Examples:

念願を果たせないまま、その老人は死んでしまった。

果たして、少年の運命やいかに？

昔の人は地球の果ては断崖絶壁になっていると信じていた。

果物は体によい。

Translations:

With his heart's ambition's unfulfilled, the old man died.

And after all this, what next awaits our young hero? (Find out in our next thrilling installment of the manga/in the sequel!)

People long ago believed that, at the end of the earth, there was a sheer, precipitous cliff.

Fruit is good for you.

Radical:

木 is the radical.

I always remembered this kanji by thinking of the 田 on top as a bunch of fruit-laden branches, full of ripe goodness.

Happily, the etymology is the same as my invented mnemonic: the pictograph is of a tree filled with ripe, round fruit.

Bonus:文旦

When I was last in Japan, I had this fruit, called bontan. (We call it "pomelo.")



Huge, right? They look like giant grapefruit, but taste very different. Sweeter and more of a subtle taste... honestly, it was a few months ago, and, while I was impressed at the time, I can't summon up the exact flavor. Delicious, though.

I had mine in Beppu, but they're grown in many places in Japan. I saw huge, basketball-sized ones growing in Hamamatsu.

In Vietnam, I think they're greener. At least that's what I've ascertained via the internet this morning. In Japan, ぼんたん are yellow on the outside but pink with an orange tint on the inside.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/ka.htm