Meaning & readings
brain, memory
On’yomi ノウ、ドウ
Kun’yomi のうずる
Origin
This character combines the flesh radical 月 on the left, which marks it as a body part, with a sound component on the right that hints at the pronunciation. The sound element helps readers recognize this as "nou," while the flesh classifier immediately tells you it refers to something inside the body. Ancient Chinese physicians used this combination to create a character for the brain, one of the vital organs enclosed within the skull. Over time, the character extended to mean memory and mental function, since the brain is where thinking and remembering happen.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 11
- Kangxi radical
- 130
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #459 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+08133