Skip to content
Kotomora

燕

swallow (bird)

StatusJinmeiyōFrequencyTop 5,000Strokes16

Readings

On'yomi

  • エン

Kun'yomi

  • つばめ
  • つばくら
  • つばくろ

Meaning

燕 centers on the swallow, a small migratory bird known for its forked tail and swift flight.

Most common words using 燕

20 of 47
  • 燕つばめ
    N1

    swallow (bird of the Hirundinidae family); martin

  • 飛燕ひえん

    swallow in flight

  • 燕尾服えんびふく

    tailcoat

  • アフリカ腰白雨燕アフリカこしじろあまつばめ

    white-rumped swift (Apus caffer)

  • ヨーロッパ雨燕ヨーロッパあまつばめ

    common swift (Apus apus); European swift

  • 三日月燕魚みかづきつばめうお

    golden spadefish (Platax boersii); Boer's batfish

  • 台湾小洞燕たいわんしょうどうつばめ

    brown-throated martin (Riparia paludicola); brown-throated sand martin

  • 太平燕タイピーエン

    Kumamoto-style vermicelli soup

  • 姫海燕ひめうみつばめ

    European storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus)

  • 姫燕千鳥ひめつばめちどり

    small pratincole (Glareola lactea); little pratincole; small Indian pratincole

  • 姫雨燕ひめあまつばめ

    house swift (Apus nipalensis)

  • 小洞燕しょうどうつばめ

    sand martin (Riparia riparia)

  • 岩燕いわつばめ

    Asian house martin (Delichon dasypus)

  • 後燕こうえん

    Later Yan (dynastic Chinese state)

  • 海燕うみつばめ

    storm petrel (any bird of family Hydrobatidae)

  • 潜海燕もぐりうみつばめ

    diving petrel (esp. the common diving petrel, Pelecanoides urinatrix)

  • 燕万年青つばめおもと

    bead lily (Clintonia udensis)

  • 燕児えんじ

    swallow chick

  • 燕千鳥つばめちどり

    Oriental pratincole (Glareola maldivarum); eastern collared pratincole; large Indian pratincole; swallow-plover

  • 燕去り月つばめさりづき

    eighth lunar month

Explore all words using 燕 →

Study

Etymology

燕 is a pictograph of a swallow, with the top 廿 representing the head and beak, the middle the body and wings, and the bottom 灬 the forked tail. The modern form retains this stylized bird shape.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 廿 looks like the swallow's head and beak, the middle section its body and spread wings, and the bottom 灬 its distinctive forked tail. Together they form a swallow in flight.

Reading mnemonic

For エン, picture a swallow swooping into an English garden: the 'en' of English cues エン, and the swallow darts among the flowers.