Meaning & readings
netting, network
On’yomi モウ
Kun’yomi あみ
Nanori あ、ずな
Origin
The character 網 combines two parts to show the idea of netting. On the left is 糸, which means thread or string and serves as a classifier showing this character relates to fabric or woven material. On the right is 罔, which acts as a sound hint for pronunciation rather than adding meaning. Together, the character's visual structure—with threads suggested by the left component—evokes the appearance of a net or mesh woven from strings, which is why 網 came to mean both a physical net and, in modern usage, a network or web.
Components
- 糸
- 罔
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 14
- Kangxi radical
- 120
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1194 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+07DB2