岡
mount, hill, knoll
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
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.