Meaning & readings

bed, counter for beds, floor, padding, tatami

On’yomi ショウ
Kun’yomi とこ、ゆか

Origin

This character combines a roof or shelter radical (the element at the top left that suggests a structure or enclosed space) with wood below it. Together, these components represent something made of wood that exists within or as part of a building structure. This naturally describes both a bed—a wooden platform for sleeping—and a floor, which is a wooden or constructed surface you stand on inside a house. The character's meaning expanded to include related concepts like padding (what you might put on a bed) and tatami (the woven floor covering in traditional Japanese rooms).

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

7 strokes

Components

  • 广 radical top-left wrap
  • meaning part tarec

Common words

  • 温床 おんしょう hotbed; breeding ground
  • 起床 きしょう rising (from one's bed); getting up
  • 床屋 とこや barbershop; barber shop
  • 床下 ゆかした under the floor
  • 寝床 ねどこ bed; berth
  • 病床 びょうしょう sickbed; (hospital) bed
  • 苗床 なえどこ seedbed; nursery
  • 臨床 りんしょう clinical (e.g. pathology, training, trial)

Reference

Strokes
7
Kangxi radical
53
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1175 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+05E8A