Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
脳 (のう, nou) Japanese meaning: brain | Kotomora
Report an issue with this page
う
け
た
。
He suffered damage to his brain in the accident.
The human brain processes a huge amount of information.
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 が 脳のう を 使つか う to use one's brain/head (to think)
You need to use your brain to solve this problem.
脳のう が 発はっ 達たつ する for the brain to develop
A child's brain develops significantly by the age of three.
〈 人ひと 〉 が 脳のう を 鍛きた える to train one's brain/mind
Solving puzzles can help train your brain.
脳のう に 良い い good for the brain
Blue fish is said to be good for the brain.
〈 人ひと〉 〉 の 脳ういう が 疲つか れる for someone's brain to get tired/mentally fatigued
Studying for a long time tires the brain.
Expressions 脳のう 裏り をよぎる cross one's mind; occur to one; flash into one's head Related words 頭 is the everyday word for the head, mind, or intelligence, while 脳 specifically refers to the brain as an organ or its biological functions.
頭脳 refers to intellect or brainpower as an ability, whereas 脳 can mean the physical organ itself or its mental functions.
脳みそ is a casual, colloquial word for the brain or one's thinking ability, while 脳 is the neutral, more formal or scientific term.
脳 is the ordinary Japanese word for the physical brain, while ブレーン (or ブレイン) is a katakana alternative used mainly in foreign-influenced or explanatory contexts.
Don't confuse with 能 (ability/Noh theatre) and 脳 (brain) are pronounced identically but refer to completely different things, so context or kanji is needed to tell them apart.
脳 is the general word for 'brain' as a whole, whereas 大脳 refers specifically to the cerebrum, one anatomical part of it, so the two are easy to conflate in casual use.
Word family· 127 brainwashing; mind control
brain; brains; brain tissue
head; brains; mind · intellect; intelligence; understanding
computer · cyberbrain; digital brain
Etymology A Sino-Japanese kanji word read のう. The kanji 脳 is conventionally associated with the brain; no more specific historical derivation is asserted here.
brain waves · electroencephalogram; EEG
Show 25 more cranial nerves
stroke; cerebral hemorrhage
one's mind; in one's head
brain death
brain tumor
cerebrum
top of the head; crown
right brain
left brain; left hemisphere
encephalitis; brain inflammation
brain surgery; neurosurgery
encephalopathy
cerebellum
concussion; brain concussion
brain stem
cerebral hemorrhage
cerebral; brain-related
brain; encephalon
cerebral hemorrhage
pituitary gland; hypophysis
cerebrospinal fluid; spinal fluid · brains; intelligence
head; leader; top · important part; core
midbrain; mesencephalon
human brain
forebrain; prosencephalon
