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Kanji Detail for 柳 - "willow tree"

柳

  • Meaning

    柳 means "willow tree." Also associated with graceful, flexible.

    1. Willow - A tree with drooping branches.

    2. Graceful - Elegant and flowing.

    3. Flexible - Able to bend without breaking.

  • Words using 柳

    • 川柳 せんりゅう Listen senryū; comic haiku; humorous seventeen-mora poem
    • 青柳 あおやぎ Listen green willow (i.e. one that has budded); meat of the trough shell (Mactra chinensis)
    • 花柳 かりゅう Listen red-light district

  • Four-character idioms with 柳

    • 柳巷花街 りゅうこうかがい Listen red-light district; pleasure quarter
    • 柳暗花明 りゅうあんかめい Listen beautiful scenery of spring; red-light district
    • 柳緑花紅 りゅうりょくかこう Listen red blossoms and green willows; beautiful scenery of spring; natural beauty
    • 桃紅柳緑 とうこうりゅうりょく Listen beautiful scenery of spring
    • 花紅柳緑 かこうりゅうりょく Listen red blossoms and green willows; beautiful scenery of spring; natural beauty

  • Origin of 柳

    木, the tree, beside 卯, lending the reading ryū: the willow — the tree that bends at the water's edge and does not break.

    How to remember it: The tree 木 that answers the wind by yielding — the willow.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 柳

    • Verified meaning: willow tree
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read たかやな, たま, てるお, ぬりこ)
    • Also carries these associations: graceful, flexible

    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 柳

    Given names 柳(ぬりこ)Listen 柳(やなぎ)Listen 柳(ゆう)Listen 柳(りゅう)Listen

    Surnames 柳(たかやな)Listen 柳(たま)Listen 柳(てるお)Listen 柳(やない)Listen 柳(やなかき)Listen 柳(やなぎたか)Listen 柳(ゆ)Listen 柳(りゆ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    willow

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    willow tree; pleasure; 24th lunar mansion, determinative star δ Hydrae

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Liu

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    willow tree; pleasure; surname

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

    A tree name. Three to four zhang tall. Thin, long, drooping branches. Bark can be stripped to weave implements like baskets. Dark purple flowers. When fruit ripens, fluff emerges like white cotton. See "楊" for comparison. | Star name. One of the twenty-eight lunar mansions.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ryuu(リュウ) リュウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    yanagi(やなぎ) やなぎ

  • Strokes

    tip

    9 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    木 (ki・kihen)

  • Related Keywords

    willow tree graceful flexible branches drooping elegant flowing green leaves nature nimble ornamental poetic riverside slender supple swaying

Sentences including 柳

  • A fox isn't caught twice in the same snare.

  • Oaks may fall when reeds stand the storm.

  • A fox is not caught twice in the same snare.

  • I don't know what to do with that guy. No matter how mad I get at him he just takes it in stride and pays no attention.

  • The Firework's displays final "Weeping Willow" display brilliantly launched into the night sky, slowly dripping down as it drew a gentle slope until finally its blossoming figure gradually vanished.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 木 (ki・kihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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