沃
fertility
Readings
On'yomi
- ヨウ
- ヨク
- オク
Kun'yomi
- そそ.ぐ
Meaning
沃 centers on land that is rich and productive: fertile soil that yields abundant growth.
Most common words using 沃
- 肥沃ひよく
fertile; rich; productive
- 土壌肥沃度どじょうひよくど
soil fertility
- 沃るいる
to pour; to dash (water) over; to douse with
- 沃土よくど
rich soil; fertile land
- 沃地よくち
fertile land; oasis
- 沃田よくでん
fertile field; field with fertile soil
- 沃野よくや
fertile fields or plain
- 沃野千里よくやせんり
vast expanse of fertile land
- 肥沃な三日月地帯ひよくなみかづきちたい
Fertile Crescent
- 膏沃こうよく
fertile soil; fertile land; fertility
- 菲沃斯ひよす
henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)
- 豊沃ほうよく
fertility
Study
Etymology
沃 combines 氵 (water) with 夭, which likely contributes the sound and suggests lush, bending growth. Together they express the idea of watering land to make it fertile.
Meaning mnemonic
Water 氵 nourishes the young, bending shoots 夭, turning the soil fertile and productive.
Reading mnemonic
For ヨウ, imagine a fertile field being watered by a yoke of oxen: yoke -> ヨウ, and the water makes the land rich.