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Kotomora

鵜

cormorant

StatusJinmeiyōFrequencyTop 5,000Strokes18

Readings

On'yomi

  • テイ
  • ダイ

Kun'yomi

  • う

Meaning

鵜 refers specifically to the cormorant, a water bird known for diving and catching fish.

Most common words using 鵜

  • 鵜呑みうのみ

    swallowing without chewing

  • 鵜う

    cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae spp.)

  • 鵜飼いうかい

    cormorant fishing

  • 川鵜かわう

    great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

  • ガラパゴス小羽鵜ガラパゴスこばねう

    flightless cormorant; Galapagos cormorant

  • ヨーロッパ姫鵜ヨーロッパひめう

    European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis); common shag; shag

  • 千島鵜烏ちしまうがらす

    red-faced cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile); red-faced shag; violet shag

  • 姫鵜ひめう

    pelagic cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)

  • 小羽鵜こばねう

    short-winged cormorant

  • 海鵜うみう

    Japanese cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus); Temminck's cormorant

  • 鵜の目鷹の目うのめたかのめ

    eyes of a predator; sharp eyes; keen eyes; vigilant attention; eyes of a cormorant, eyes of a hawk

  • 鵜匠うしょう

    cormorant fisherman

  • 鵜呑みにするうのみにする

    to swallow (e.g. a story); to accept without questioning

  • 鵜松明樺うだいかんば

    monarch birch (Betula maximowicziana); Japanese birch

Explore all words using 鵜 →

Study

Etymology

鵜 combines 弟 (which likely contributes the sound) with 鳥 (bird), forming a phono-semantic compound for the cormorant.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 弟 (younger brother) and right side 鳥 (bird) together suggest a bird that is like a younger brother among water birds—diving and working alongside fishermen. Picture a cormorant as the fisherman's helper bird.

Reading mnemonic

For テイ, imagine a cormorant taking a fish from the water: take -> テイ, as the bird takes its catch.