茎

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 茎 is a noun read くき, meaning the stem that supports leaves or flowers and carries materials through a plant.
• Basic usage: Use 茎を切る when someone cuts a stem and 茎が折れる when the stem breaks.
  • 花の茎を斜めに切って水に挿した。 describes cutting a flower stem diagonally and placing it in water; 強い風で細い茎が折れた。 describes a thin stem breaking in strong wind.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 茎を切る
  • を marks the stem that a person cuts.
• 茎が折れる
  • が marks the stem whose state changes by breaking.
• 斜めに
  • に describes the diagonal direction or shape of the cut.