also: ようりゅう
noun
willow (any tree of genus Salix)
General term for willow trees. In everyday use, often refers to the weeping willow or other common species.
川のそばに大きな柳の木がある。
There is a big willow tree by the river.
noun
weeping willow (Salix babylonica)
Only with reading やなぎ / ヤナギ
Specifically the weeping willow. Often distinguished from other willows by its drooping branches. Reading restricted to やなぎ or ヤナギ.
See also: 枝垂れ柳
Weeping willows are planted along the edge of the pond in the park.
Compound form with reading ようりゅう; mainly used in botanical or literary contexts.
Alternate kanji for willow; less common than 柳.
枝垂れ柳 specifically means 'weeping willow' and is more precise than 柳 alone, which can refer to any willow.
The kanji 柳 is a phono-semantic compound: the tree radical 木 plus the phonetic component 卯 (historically related to 'willow'). The reading やなぎ is of native Japanese origin.