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Kotomora

羊

sheep

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · grade 3FrequencyTop 2,000Strokes6

Readings

On'yomi

  • ヨウ

Kun'yomi

  • ひつじ

Nanori

  • よ

Meaning

羊 centers on the animal sheep, including its use as a component in other characters.

Most common words using 羊

20 of 107

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Etymology

羊 is a pictograph of a sheep, with the modern form showing horns, a face, and a body. The character has retained its sheep meaning throughout history.

Meaning mnemonic

The top strokes look like the curved horns of a sheep, the middle horizontal lines its face, and the vertical stroke its body. Together, 羊 is a sheep.

Reading mnemonic

For ヨウ, imagine a sheep saying 'yo!' as it greets you in the field: yo -> ヨウ.