鋤(すき)

すき
noun
spade; plow
tool
1. spade; plow; digging tool
A hand farming tool with a flat blade and a long handle, used to dig and turn over soil. Historically also a plow drawn through a field.
鋤(すき)で畑(はたけ)を耕(たがや)す。
I till the field with a spade.
昔(むかし)は牛(うし)に鋤(すき)を引(ひ)かせて田(た)を耕(たがや)した。
Long ago, people had oxen pull a plow to till the rice fields.
鋤(すき)を使(つか)って土(つち)を深(ふか)く掘(ほ)り返(かえ)すと、作物(さくもつ)がよく育(そだ)つ。
When you use a spade to dig the soil over deeply, the crops grow well.

A traditional digging and tilling tool. The word is also part of the dish name すき焼(や)き (sukiyaki), said to come from cooking on a spade-like metal blade.

Similar words

  • 鍬(くわ): hoe — has the blade set at an angle to the handle for chopping into soil, whereas a 鋤(すき) blade is in line with the handle for digging
  • スコップ・シャベル: shovel — modern general-purpose digging tools

Related Words

Compare: 鍬(くわ) (hoe)
Compare: スコップ (shovel)
general
Added 2026.5.23 13:06 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
27500/27971_suki