1.
pole; rod; long stick
A long, thin stick or pole used for various purposes — hanging laundry, pushing a boat, or reaching things. One of the basic tools in traditional Japanese daily life.
物干し竿に洗濯物を干す。
To hang laundry on a drying pole.
長い竿で柿の実を落とした。
I knocked persimmons down with a long pole.
船頭が竿で川底を突いて船を進めた。
The boatman pushed the boat forward by poling the riverbed.
2.
fishing rod; fishing pole
A rod used for fishing, especially a traditional bamboo fishing pole. In fishing contexts, 竿 alone commonly means 'fishing rod.'
新しい竿を買った。
I bought a new fishing rod.
竿を垂れて魚を待つ。
To drop the rod and wait for a bite.
祖父は竹の竿で釣りをするのが好きだった。
My grandfather liked fishing with a bamboo rod.
A fundamental word in traditional Japanese life. The voiced form ざお appears in compounds: 物干し竿 ('laundry pole'), 釣り竿 ('fishing rod'). Originally referred to bamboo poles, which were the standard material for centuries.
USAGE:
- In compound words, the reading changes to ざお through rendaku (sequential voicing): 釣り竿, 物干し竿.
- 竿を差す ('to pole a boat') is the traditional expression for propelling a flat-bottomed boat.
- In everyday modern life, the most common encounter with 竿 is the 物干し竿 used to hang laundry outdoors.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 物干し竿: laundry drying pole
- 釣り竿: fishing rod
- 竿を差す: to pole a boat
- 竿を垂れる: to cast a line (fishing)
- 竹竿: bamboo pole
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 棒: stick; bar — a general term for a rigid stick or rod, without the long-and-thin connotation of 竿
- 杖: cane; walking stick — a stick used for support while walking
- ロッド: rod — the English loanword, used mainly for modern fishing rods