kettle

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: No on reading is listed, and the kun reading is かま. It has 10 strokes. It appears in words for large cooking pots and rice cooked in them.
• Basic usage: 釜 is read かま, and 釜飯 is read かまめし.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 釜 / 釜飯
  • 釜 means large cauldron and is read かま. It refers to a large cauldron used to cook rice or other food.
  • 大きな釜で祭りの御飯を炊いた。 means “We cooked rice for the festival in a large cauldron.”
  • 釜飯 means rice cooked in a pot and is read かまめし. It refers to rice cooked with other ingredients in a pot.
  • 駅前の店で山菜の釜飯を食べた。 means “I ate rice cooked in a pot with mountain vegetables at a shop near the station.”