竈
hearth, kitchen stove
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
Kun'yomi
- かまど
- かま
- へっつい
Meaning
竈 centers on a fixed cooking fire: a traditional hearth or kitchen stove where food is prepared over flames.
Most common words using 竈
- 竈くど
smokehole on hearth
- 竈かまど
kamado; traditional Japanese wood or charcoal-fueled cook stove
- 七竈ななかまど
Japanese rowan (Sorbus commixta)
- お竈を起こすおかまをおこす
to make a fortune
- 南京七竈ナンキンななかまど
Sorbus gracilis (species of mountain ash)
- 四葉塩竈よつばしおがま
Chamisso's lousewort (Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica)
- 土竈炭どがまずみ
charcoal burned in an earthen kiln
- 御竈蟋蟀おかまこおろぎ
camel cricket (Diestrammena apicalis); camelback cricket; cave cricket; spider cricket
- 竈を起こすかまどをおこす
to make a fortune; to build family wealth
- 竈神かまどがみ
deity of the hearth; god of the kitchen stove
- 西洋七竈せいようななかまど
rowan (Sorbus aucuparia); mountain-ash
- 高嶺七竈たかねななかまど
Siberian mountain ash (Sorbus sambucifolia)
Study
Etymology
竈 combines 穴 (cave, hole) with 土 (earth) and 黽 (a pictograph of a frog or toad), suggesting an earthen cavity used for fire. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the character likely depicts a traditional clay stove or hearth.
Meaning mnemonic
Picture a cave-like opening (穴) dug into the earth (土) where a fire burns, and the lower part (黽) looks like a squat, rounded stove with a chimney. Together, 竈 is a hearth or kitchen stove.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, imagine the soul (ソウ) of the home: the hearth where meals are cooked and warmth is shared. Soul -> ソウ, and the hearth is its heart.