瓦
tile, gram
Readings
On'yomi
- ガ
Kun'yomi
- かわら
- ぐらむ
Meaning
瓦 centers on a baked clay tile, especially a roof tile. The 'gram' meaning is a modern phonetic borrowing unrelated to the tile sense.
Most common words using 瓦
20 of 47- 煉瓦れんがN2
brick
- 瓦かわらN2
tile (e.g. roof)
- 瓦礫がれき
rubble; debris; wreckage; tiles and pebbles
- 瓦解がかい
collapse; downfall
- 青瓦台せいがだい
Blue House (official residence of the president of South Korea); Cheong Wa Dae
- 鬼瓦おにがわら
decorative ridge-end tile (traditionally bearing the face of a demon and resembling a gargoyle)
- 瓦葺きかわらぶき
tile-roofing
- シャモット煉瓦シャモットれんが
chamotte brick
- セメント瓦セメントがわら
cement roof tile; cement tile
- 丸瓦まるがわら
convex roof tile
- 化粧煉瓦けしょうれんが
ornamental tile; facing bricks
- 土崩瓦解どほうがかい
complete collapse; (something) going to pieces (breaking up beyond repair)
- 天日瓦てんじつがわら
sun-dried brick; adobe
- 屋根瓦やねがわら
roof tile
- 巴瓦ともえがわら
comma-pattern tile
- 平瓦ひらがわら
concave roof tile
- 日本瓦斯にっぽんがす
Nippon Gas
- 木煉瓦もくれんが
wooden block
- 桟瓦さんがわら
pantile
- 棟瓦むながわら
ridge tile
Study
Etymology
瓦 is a pictograph of a roof tile, with the modern form preserving a stylized tile shape. The 'gram' reading is a modern phonetic loan unrelated to the original meaning.
Meaning mnemonic
The shape looks like two overlapping roof tiles with a small connecting piece. Picture a tiled roof: 瓦 is a tile.
Reading mnemonic
For ガ, imagine a tile falling and making a sharp 'ga' sound as it hits the ground: ga -> ガ.