noun
Refers to the animal sheep (Ovis aries).
牧場に羊がたくさんいる。
There are many sheep on the farm.
羊の毛でセーターを編んだ。
I knitted a sweater from sheep's wool.
Standard kanji spelling.
Katakana spelling, often used in biological contexts or for emphasis.
Kana spelling, common in children's books or when avoiding kanji.
山羊 means goat, a different animal.
The origin is uncertain, but the word is native Japanese. The kanji 羊 is a pictograph of a sheep.