Meanings
plural star anises · alternative star of anise
- countableuncountableA plant, Illicium verum, used primarily for its starshaped seed which resembles anise in scent and flavor, and which is used as a spice.
Synonyms: Chinese star anise, true star anise
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA plant, Illicium verum, used primarily for its starshaped seed which resembles anise in scent and flavor, and which is used as a spice.
nounThe starshaped seed used as a spice.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsmall tree of China and Vietnam bearing anise-scented star-shaped fruit used in food and medicinally as a carminative
nounsmall shrubby tree of Japan and Taiwan; flowers are not fragrant
nounanise-scented star-shaped fruit or seed used in Asian cooking and medicine
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans steranys
- steranysa plant, Illicium verum
Arabic ليسوم حقيقي, ينسون نجمي
- ليسوم حقيقي (līsūm ħaqīqi)a plant, Illicium verum
- ينسون نجمي (yansūn najmi)a plant, Illicium verum
- باديان (bādiyān)a plant, Illicium verum
- ليسوم حقيقي (līsūm ħaqīqi)the spice
- ينسون نجمي (yansūn najmi)the spice
- باديان (bādiyān)the spice
Catalan badiana, anís estrellat
- badianaa plant, Illicium verum
- anís estrellata plant, Illicium verum
- anís estrellatthe spice
Chinese Cantonese 八角
- 八角 (baat³ gok³)a plant, Illicium verum
Chinese Mandarin 八角, 八角茴香
- 八角 (bājiǎo)a plant, Illicium verum
- 八角茴香 (bājiǎohuíxiāng)a plant, Illicium verum
- 大茴香 (dàhuíxiāng)a plant, Illicium verum
Danish stjerneanis
- stjerneanisa plant, Illicium verum
Dutch steranijs
- steranijsa plant, Illicium verum
Esperanto stelanizo
- stelanizoa plant, Illicium verum
Finnish tähtianis
- tähtianisa plant, Illicium verum
French anis étoilé, badiane chinoise
- anis étoiléa plant, Illicium verum
- badiane chinoisea plant, Illicium verum
- étoile d'anisa plant, Illicium verum
- anis étoilea plant, Illicium verum
German Sternanis
- Sternanisa plant, Illicium verum
Greek αστεροειδής γλυκάνισος, αστεροειδής γλυκάνισος
- αστεροειδής γλυκάνισος (asteroeidís glykánisos)a plant, Illicium verum
- αστεροειδής γλυκάνισος (asteroeidís glykánisos)the spice
Hindi चक्र फूल
- चक्र फूल (cakra phūl)a plant, Illicium verum
Hungarian csillagánizs, csillagánizs
- csillagánizsa plant, Illicium verum
- csillagánizsthe spice
Indonesian bunga lawang
- bunga lawanga plant, Illicium verum
Irish réalt-ainís
- réalt-ainísa plant, Illicium verum
Italian anice stellato
- anice stellatoa plant, Illicium verum
Japanese 唐樒, 大茴香
- 唐樒 (tōshikimi)a plant, Illicium verum
- 大茴香 (daiuikyō)a plant, Illicium verum
- 八角茴香 (hakkaku uikyō)a plant, Illicium verum
- 八角 (hakkaku)the spice
- スターアニス (sta anisu)the spice
Korean 팔각, 스타아니스
- 팔각 (palgak)a plant, Illicium verum
- 스타아니스 (seutaaniseu)a plant, Illicium verum
Latvian zvaigžņainais anīss, anīskoks
- zvaigžņainais anīssa plant, Illicium verum
- anīskoksa plant, Illicium verum
- zvaigžņainais anīssthe spice
Malay bunga lawang, bunga lawang
- bunga lawanga plant, Illicium verum
- bunga lawangthe spice
Māori kopoti whetū, kopoti whetū
- kopoti whetūa plant, Illicium verum
- kopoti whetūthe spice
Norwegian stjerneanis
- stjerneanisa plant, Illicium verum
Persian بادیان
- بادیان (bâdiyân)a plant, Illicium verum
Polish badian właściwy, anyż gwiaździsty
- badian właściwya plant, Illicium verum
- anyż gwiaździstythe spice
- anyż gwiazdkowythe spice
- badianthe spice
- badianekthe spice
Portuguese anis-estrelado, estrela-de-anis
- anis-estreladoa plant, Illicium verum
- estrela-de-anisa plant, Illicium verum
Romanian anason stelat, badian
- anason stelata plant, Illicium verum
- badiana plant, Illicium verum
Russian звёздчатый ани́с
- звёздчатый ани́с (zvjózdčatyj anís)a plant, Illicium verum
Slovak badián
- badiánthe spice
Spanish anís estrellado, anís estrella
- anís estrelladoa plant, Illicium verum
- anís estrellaa plant, Illicium verum
- badiána plant, Illicium verum
- badianaa plant, Illicium verum
Swedish stjärnanis
- stjärnanisa plant, Illicium verum
Tagalog sangke
- sangkethe spice
Thai โป๊ยกั้ก
- โป๊ยกั้ก (bpóoy gák)a plant, Illicium verum
Vietnamese đại hồi, hồi
- đại hồia plant, Illicium verum
- hồia plant, Illicium verum
- đại hồi hươnga plant, Illicium verum
Welsh coeden anis
- coeden anisa plant, Illicium verum
Cite this entry
star anise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20anise
“star anise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20anise. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “star anise,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20anise.
Source: star anise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.