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Kotomora

房

tassel, tuft, fringe, bunch, lock (hair), segment (orange), house, room

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 1,000Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • ボウ

Kun'yomi

  • ふさ

Nanori

  • お
  • のぶ
  • わ

Meaning

房 centers on a cluster or compartment: a bunch of hair or fruit segments, and by extension a partitioned room or small house. The tassel and fringe senses are specific hanging cluster applications.

Most common words using 房

20 of 137
  • 官房かんぼう

    government secretariat

  • 工房こうぼう

    workshop; studio; atelier

  • 房ふさ
    N1

    tuft (of hair, threads, etc.); fringe; tassel

  • 冷房れいぼう
    N4

    air conditioning; air cooling

  • 暖房だんぼう
    N4

    (indoor) heating

  • 女房にょうぼう
    N2

    wife (esp. one's own wife)

  • 厨房ちゅうぼう

    kitchen; galley

  • 乳房ちぶさ

    breast; udder

  • 書房しょぼう

    study; library

  • 文房具ぶんぼうぐ
    N2

    stationery

  • 冷暖房れいだんぼう

    air conditioning and heating

  • 独房どくぼう

    single-person cell; isolation cell; solitary cell; solitary confinement cell

  • 安房あわ

    Awa (former province located in the south of present-day Chiba Prefecture)

  • 心房しんぼう

    atrium

  • 茶房さぼう

    teahouse; coffee shop

  • 内房線うちぼうせん

    Uchibō Line

  • 外房線そとぼうせん

    Sotobō Line

  • 花房はなぶさ

    calyx; corolla

  • 富士見書房ふじみしょぼう

    Fujimi Shobo (publisher)

  • 監房かんぼう

    (prison) cell; ward

Explore all words using 房 →

Study

Etymology

房 combines 户 (door/house) and 方, which likely contributes the sound. The original idea may have been a side room or partitioned space, later extended to clusters and bunches.

Meaning mnemonic

A door (户) with a square (方) inside: imagine a square room behind a door, or a square bunch of hair tied at the door. The shape suggests a compartment or cluster.

Reading mnemonic

For ボウ, picture a bow (ボウ) made of a tuft of hair hanging on the door of a room. The bow cues ボウ and ties the cluster meaning to the shape.