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Kotomora

雀

sparrow

StatusJinmeiyōFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes11

Readings

On'yomi

  • ジャク
  • ジャン
  • サク
  • シャク

Kun'yomi

  • すずめ

Nanori

  • ざく

Meaning

雀 centers on the small, lively bird: a sparrow. The character itself visually suggests a small bird with a compact body and short tail.

Most common words using 雀

20 of 117
  • 麻雀マージャン
    N1

    mahjong; mah-jongg

  • 雀すずめ
    N1

    tree sparrow (Passer montanus)

  • 孔雀くじゃく

    peafowl (incl. the male peacock, female peahen, and young peachick)

  • 朱雀すざく

    Vermilion Bird (god said to rule over the southern heavens)

  • 雲雀ひばり
    N1

    skylark (Alauda arvensis)

  • 金糸雀カナリア

    canary (esp. the island canary, Serinus canaria)

  • 四十雀しじゅうから

    Japanese tit (Parus minor); Oriental tit

  • 雀の涙すずめのなみだ
    N1

    drop in the bucket; pittance; chicken feed; insignificant amount; sparrow tears

  • アメリカ小雀アメリカこがら

    black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus)

  • インド孔雀インドくじゃく

    Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus); common peafowl; blue peafowl

  • カロライナ小雀カロライナこがら

    Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis)

  • 三人麻雀さんにんマージャン

    three-player mahjong; sanma

  • 三筋琉球雀鯛みすじりゅうきゅうすずめだい

    whitetail dascyllus (Dascyllus aruanus); humbug dascyllus; banded dascyllus; white-tailed damselfish

  • 乙女孔雀おとめくじゃく

    Adiantum edgeworthii (species of maidenhair fern)

  • 五十雀ごじゅうから

    Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

  • 京雀きょうすずめ

    gossipy Kyotoite

  • 入内雀にゅうないすずめ

    russet sparrow (Passer rutilans); cinnamon sparrow

  • 冠海雀かんむりうみすずめ

    Japanese murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume); crested murrelet

  • 十二雀じゅうにから

    willow tit (Parus montanus)

  • 四十雀雁しじゅうからがん

    Aleutian Canada goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia)

Explore all words using 雀 →

Study

Etymology

雀 combines 小 (small) with 隹 (short-tailed bird), together suggesting a small bird, i.e., a sparrow.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 小 means small, and the bottom 隹 is a bird with a short tail. Picture a tiny, chirpy sparrow: small bird = 雀.

Reading mnemonic

For ジャク, imagine a sparrow landing on a jack-o'-lantern: jack -> ジャク, and the small bird pecks at the pumpkin.