芯|しんshin[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounwick; marrow; staple (for stapler); (pencil) lead; stuffing; pith
   シャーペンの芯しん２・３本ぽんもらえるかな。↗

   Could you lend me a few mechanical pencil leads?
2. nouncore; heart; centre; center
   私は体からだの芯しんまで冷ひえ切きった。↗

   I was frozen to the bone.
3. nounpistil (of a flower)
4. nounstamen

• Synonym核心かくしんNeutralTargets the core of an issue, as in 「核心に迫る」 — an abstract point at stake. 「芯」 is mostly for the core of physical things.
• SynonymコアNeutralA loanword for the core, or for hardcore and devoted, as in 「コアなファン」 — a nuance 「芯」 does not carry.
• Synonym核かくNeutralCovers a fruit pit, as in 「梅の核」, and the core of a team, as in 「チームの核」; 「芯」 is for the core of objects like pencil lead.
• Synonym心しんWrittenWritten word; read 「しん」 it points to one's inner depths or the center, mostly in compounds like 「心身」「核心」; 「芯」 is for physical cores.
• Related真ん中まんなかCasualColloquial word for the exact middle, as in 「真ん中に置く」; it is about being centrally placed, not about an inner core like 「芯」.
• Related中核ちゅうかくWrittenThe central, load-bearing part of an organization or thing, as in 「中核を担う」; used mostly of organizations, unlike 「芯」.
• Related中心ちゅうしんNeutralMeans the center, as in 「町の中心」; it stresses location or focus, while 「芯」 is the inner core of a physical object.
• Related真中まなかWrittenWritten-style word for the very center; rare. It marks a central position, while 「芯」 names the inner part of a thing.
• Antonym表皮ひょうひNeutralThe epidermis or outer surface, standing opposite to the inner center of 「芯」.
• Antonym外皮がいひNeutralThe outer skin or husk — the direct opposite of the inner core that 「芯」 names.

Use 「芯」 for the central part of physical things — pencil lead, a wick, a cabbage heart — as in 「鉛筆の芯」, and figuratively for backbone in one's character, as in 「芯が強い」. For the core of an issue pick 「核心」; for being right in the middle, 「真ん中」 or 「中心」; for the backbone of an organization, 「中核」. The opposite is 「表皮」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 物ものの中なかを通とおる細ほそい部分ぶぶんや詰め物つめもので、ろうそくの火ひをともす糸いと、鉛筆えんぴつの黒くろい部分ぶぶん、ホチキスの針はりなどを指さす。
2. 物事ものごとの中心ちゅうしんや最もっとも大切たいせつな部分ぶぶん。
3. 花はなの中央ちゅうおうにある雌めしべ。
4. 花はなの中なかで、花粉かふんを作つくる雄おしべ。