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Kanji Detail for 冬 - "winter, cold"

冬

  • Meaning

    冬 means "winter, cold." Also associated with end of year.

    1. Winter - The coldest season of the year.

    2. Cold - Low temperature; chilly.

    3. End of year - The concluding period of the annual cycle.

  • Words using 冬

    • 冬季 とうき Listen winter season; winter
    • 冬場 ふゆば Listen wintertime; winter season
    • 暖冬 だんとう Listen mild winter; warm winter
    • 越冬 えっとう Listen passing the winter; hibernation
    • 冬休み ふゆやすみ Listen winter vacation; winter holidays
    • 冬眠 とうみん Listen hibernation; winter sleep; brumation
    • 春夏秋冬 しゅんかしゅうとう Listen spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; the four seasons
    • 冬期 とうき Listen winter; wintertime; winter term

  • Four-character idioms with 冬

    • 春夏秋冬 しゅんかしゅうとう Listen spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; the four seasons
    • 夏炉冬扇 かろとうせん Listen summer fires and winter fans; useless things

  • Origin of 冬

    A cord knotted at both ends — the origin of 終, "to end" — with 冫, ice, beneath: the year tied off and frozen. Winter is the knot at the end of the rope.

    How to remember it: The year's rope tied off, ice 冫 hanging from the knot — winter, the end of the line.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 冬

    • Verified meaning: winter, cold
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read とう, とうみん, なつ, ふゆ)
    • Also carries these associations: end of year

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 冬

    Given names 冬(とうみん)Listen 冬(なつ)Listen 冬(ふゆ)Listen

    Surnames 冬(とう)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    winter

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    winter, 11th lunar month

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    winter

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    winter, 11th lunar month

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    One of the four seasons. From the beginning of winter (November 8 in the solar calendar) to the beginning of spring (February 5 in the solar calendar) is winter. In Chinese custom, the 10th, 11th, and 12th months of the lunar calendar are winter. In Western custom, December, January, and February in the solar calendar are winter.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    toh(トウ) トウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    fuyu(ふゆ) ふゆ

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    冫 (nisui)

  • Related Keywords

    winter cold end of year snow blizzard chill conifer darkness december february fireplace freeze frost hibernate holiday ice january seasonal

Sentences including 冬

  • I went skiing for the first time this winter.

  • They always go skiing in winter.

  • He went skiing during the winter.

  • Spring comes between winter and summer.

  • This winter has been mild.

  • Winter is drawing on.

  • Did you enjoy your winter holidays?

  • They say we are going to have a severe winter.

  • This winter is warm.

  • I wonder if it will snow in our town this winter.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 冫 (nisui)

See all kanji with this radical →

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