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Kotomora

苗

seedling, sapling, shoot

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • ビョウ
  • ミョウ

Kun'yomi

  • なえ
  • なわ-

Nanori

  • ねい
  • のら
  • みう
  • みつ

Meaning

苗 centers on a young plant at an early stage of growth: a seedling, sapling, or shoot that has just emerged from the ground.

Most common words using 苗

20 of 31
  • 苗字みょうじ
    N3

    surname; family name; last name

  • 苗なえ
    N1

    seedling; young plant

  • 早苗さなえ

    rice seedling

  • 苗木なえぎ

    seedling; sapling; young tree

  • 種苗しゅびょう

    seeds and seedlings

  • 苗床なえどこ

    seedbed; nursery; seed-plot

  • 育苗いくびょう

    raising seedlings

  • 苗ミャオ

    Miao (people); Hmong

  • 早苗月さなえづき

    fifth lunar month

  • 早苗饗さなぶり

    celebration for the end of rice planting; festival held when all rice has been planted

  • 早苗鳥さなえどり

    lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)

  • 桑苗そうびょう

    mulberry seedling

  • 玉苗たまなえ

    rice seedling

  • 痘苗とうびょう

    vaccine

  • 磚子苗くぐ

    Pacific island flatsedge (Cyperus cyperoides)

  • 種苗法しゅびょうほう

    Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act

  • 花苗はななえ

    flower seedling

  • 苗代なわしろ

    rice nursery; bed for rice seedlings

  • 苗代時なわしろどき

    time to prepare a rice nursery

  • 苗代苺なわしろいちご

    native raspberry (Rubus parvifolius)

Explore all words using 苗 →

Study

Etymology

苗 combines 艹 (grass/plant) with 田 (field), depicting a young plant growing in a field. This is a straightforward semantic compound.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 艹 is a plant, and the bottom 田 is a field. Imagine a tiny green seedling pushing up through the soil of a field: that's 苗.

Reading mnemonic

For ビョウ, picture a seedling growing in a field that looks like a tiny bow (ビョウ) tied with a ribbon. The bow shape cues ビョウ while the seedling sprouts.