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Kotomora

蓋

cover, lid, flap

StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 5,000Strokes13

Readings

On'yomi

  • ガイ
  • カイ
  • コウ

Kun'yomi

  • ふた
  • けだ.し
  • おお.う
  • かさ
  • かこう

Meaning

蓋 centers on something that closes over an opening or object: a cover, lid, or flap that conceals or protects what is underneath.

Most common words using 蓋

20 of 102
  • 蓋ふた
    N3

    cover; lid; cap

  • 頭蓋骨ずがいこつ

    skull; cranium

  • 頭蓋ずがい

    cranium; skull

  • 瘡蓋かさぶた

    scab; crust

  • 口蓋こうがい

    palate

  • 天蓋てんがい

    canopy; dome

  • 蓋然性がいぜんせい

    probability; likelihood

  • 蓋しけだし

    certainly; really; truly; indeed

  • 火蓋ひぶた

    apron of a gun; cover for the touch-hole on a cannon or matchlock

  • 膝蓋骨しつがいこつ

    kneecap; patella

  • 喉頭蓋こうとうがい

    epiglottis

  • かぶせ蓋かぶせぶた

    slip-on lid; lid going over the edges

  • 上蓋あげぶた

    trap door; removable floor boards

  • 上蓋うわぶた

    lid (of a box, container, etc.); cover; cap

  • 上行口蓋動脈じょうこうこうがいどうみゃく

    ascending palatine artery

  • 下行口蓋動脈かこうこうがいどうみゃく

    descending palatine artery

  • 両蓋りょうぶた

    hunting-case watch

  • 両蓋時計りょうぶたどけい

    hunting-case watch

  • 中蓋なかぶた

    inner lid

  • 九蓋草くがいそう

    Veronicastrum sibiricum (species of flowering plant)

Explore all words using 蓋 →

Study

Etymology

蓋 originally combined 艹 (grass) with 盍, which likely contributed the sound and the idea of covering. The character expressed a cover made of grass or a lid.

Meaning mnemonic

The grass crown 艹 sits over 盍, which looks like a container with a lid (皿 with something on top). Picture a woven grass cover placed over a dish: 蓋 is a lid or flap.

Reading mnemonic

For ガイ, imagine a guy lifting a heavy lid: guy -> ガイ, and he covers the pot with a big flap.