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Kotomora

膏

fat, grease, lard, paste, ointment, plaster

StatusJinmeiyōStrokes14

Readings

On'yomi

  • コウ

Kun'yomi

  • あぶら

Meaning

膏 centers on thick, oily substances used for lubrication, nourishment, or medicinal application: fat, grease, lard, paste, ointment, and plaster all share this dense, spreadable quality.

Most common words using 膏

20 of 24
  • 軟膏なんこう

    ointment; salve

  • 石膏せっこう

    plaster; gypsum; calcium sulphate (sulfate)

  • 絆創膏ばんそうこう

    adhesive bandage; sticking plaster; band-aid

  • オロナイン軟膏オロナインなんこう

    Oronine H Ointment

  • 二股膏薬ふたまたこうやく

    double-dealer; timeserver; moving back and forth between two sides in a conflict

  • 亜鉛華軟膏あえんかなんこう

    zinc oxide ointment

  • 内股膏薬うちまたこうやく

    double-dealer; fence-sitter; timeserver; moving back and forth between two sides in a conflict; duplicity; turncoat

  • 受膏者じゅこうしゃ

    anointed one

  • 按摩膏あんまこう

    massaging plaster

  • 焼石膏しょうせっこう

    calcined gypsum; plaster of Paris

  • 理屈と膏薬はどこへでもつくりくつとこうやくはどこへでもつく

    one can give a plausible argument for anything

  • 病膏肓に入るやまいこうこうにいる

    to become seriously ill; to catch an incurable illness

  • 眼軟膏がんなんこう

    eye ointment

  • 石膏像せっこうぞう

    plaster figure; plaster bust

  • 硬石膏こうせっこう

    anhydrite

  • 硬膏こうこう

    plaster (type of bandage)

  • 股座膏薬またぐらごうやく

    double-dealer; timeserver; moving back and forth between two sides in a conflict

  • 膏沃こうよく

    fertile soil; fertile land; fertility

  • 膏肓こうこう

    innermost part of the body (where a disease cannot be treated)

  • 膏腴こうゆ

    fertile soil; fertile land; fertility

Explore all words using 膏 →

Study

Etymology

膏 combines 高 (tall, high) with 月 (flesh/meat), suggesting the rich, fatty part of meat that rises to the top when cooked. The modern form preserves this idea of concentrated animal fat.

Meaning mnemonic

Picture a tall pot (高) with a layer of congealed fat (月) floating on top. That thick, oily layer is 膏—fat, grease, or ointment.

Reading mnemonic

For コウ, imagine a cook spreading thick grease on a pan: the cook's action cues コウ, and the grease is the 膏 itself.