鶯
nightingale
Readings
On'yomi
- オウ
Kun'yomi
- うぐいす
Meaning
鶯 centers on the nightingale, a small songbird known for its beautiful voice.
Most common words using 鶯
- 鶯うぐいす
Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone); Japanese nightingale
- 鶯谷おうこく
warbler being in a valley
- 梅に鶯うめにうぐいす
match made in heaven; perfect match; great coupling; bush warbler in a plum tree (a common motif in poetry and classical Japanese painting)
- 老鶯ろうおう
bush warbler singing even after spring has passed
- 高麗鶯こうらいうぐいす
black-naped oriole (Oriolus chinensis)
- 鶯パンうぐいすパン
bun filled with sweet green pea paste
- 鶯神楽うぐいすかぐら
Lonicera gracilipes (species of honeysuckle)
- 鶯茶うぐいすちゃ
greenish brown
- 鶯貝うぐいすがい
Pteria brevialata (species of wing oyster)
- 鶯遷おうせん
warbler flying from a valley to a tree
- 黒実鶯神楽くろみのうぐいすかぐら
blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea var. emphyllocalyx)
Study
Etymology
鶯 is a phono-semantic compound: the bottom 鳥 (bird) gives the meaning, and the top component 榮 (simplified to 栄 in modern Japanese) likely contributes the sound オウ. The character originally referred to a type of songbird.
Meaning mnemonic
The bottom is 鳥 (bird), and the top looks like a nest with twigs and a roof. Imagine a nightingale singing from its intricate nest.
Reading mnemonic
For オウ, picture a nightingale singing a beautiful 'Ode' at dawn: Ode -> オウ, and the bird's song fills the air.