downy hair; fine soft hair
Refers to the soft, fine hair found on the body, especially of babies or animals, or the downy fuzz on plants.
Soft downy hair grows on the baby's cheeks.
Fine downy hairs grow thickly on the stem of this plant.
綿毛 refers to fluffy, cotton-like hairs such as those on dandelion seeds or young leaves, whereas 和毛 describes fine, soft, but not necessarily fluffy hair.
Standard kanji spelling for 'downy hair'.
Search-only kanji form; not a standard spelling.
Rarely used kanji form.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 和 (soft, gentle) and 毛 (hair) combine to suggest 'soft hair'. The reading にこげ is a native Japanese word.