WORD DETAIL
触手
しょくしゅ
Examples
Included kanji
Study notes
1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning
- Structure:
触手(しょくしゅ) can mean an animal's tentacle or, figuratively, an expanding reach. Both examples combine it with伸ばす, but their semantic domains differ. - Basic usage: An octopus physically extends a tentacle; harmful solicitation figuratively extends its reach as far as students.
2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions
- Literal tentacle and figurative reach
タコが触手を伸ばすis a physical movement of an organ.勧誘は…触手を伸ばすis an idiom for expanding influence and should not receive the biological reading.

