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Kotomora

岡

mount, hill, knoll

StatusJōyō · grade 4FrequencyTop 500Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • コウ

Kun'yomi

  • おか

Meaning

岡 centers on a raised landform smaller than a mountain: a hill or knoll. The mount sense is a natural extension of a prominent hill.

Most common words using 岡

20 of 75
  • 福岡ふくおか
    N5

    Fukuoka (city, prefecture)

  • 静岡しずおか

    Shizuoka (city, prefecture)

  • 岡山おかやま

    Okayama (city, prefecture)

  • 盛岡もりおか

    Morioka (city in Iwate)

  • 長岡京ながおかきょう

    Nagaoka-kyō (capital of Japan 784-794)

  • 岡山大学おかやまだいがく

    Okayama University

  • 福岡大学ふくおかだいがく

    Fukuoka University

  • 静岡大学しずおかだいがく

    Shizuoka University

  • 岡三おかさん

    Okasan

  • 岡山理科大学おかやまりかだいがく

    Okayama University of Science

  • 大岡裁きおおおかさばき

    judicial decision made with human kindness and warmth in a fair manner

  • 大岡越前おおおかえちぜん

    Ōoka Echizen (televised period drama; 1970-1999)

  • 大阪行岡医療大学おおさかゆきおかいりょうだいがく

    Osaka Yukioka College of Health Science

  • 岡っ引きおかっぴき

    hired thief taker (Edo period); private secret policeman; private detective

  • 岡三ホールディングスおかさんホールディングス

    Okasan Holdings

  • 岡場所おかばしょ

    red-light district

  • 岡大おかだい

    Okayama University (abbr)

  • 岡山医療専門職大学おかやまいりょうせんもんしょくだいがく

    Okayama Healthcare Professional University

  • 岡山商科大学おかやましょうかだいがく

    Okayama Shoka University

  • 岡山学院大学おかやまがくいんだいがく

    Okayama Gakuin University

Explore all words using 岡 →

Study

Etymology

岡 combines 山 (mountain) with 网 (net) or a similar element, originally depicting a net-like shape on a hill, possibly indicating a hill with a distinctive outline. The modern form retains the hill meaning.

Meaning mnemonic

The outer 冂 frames a hill shape with inner strokes suggesting a knoll. Picture a hill rising inside a boundary: 岡 is a hill or knoll.

Reading mnemonic

For コウ, imagine a cow grazing on a hill: cow -> コウ, and the cow stands on the knoll.