羽

Feather, Feathers, Wing

Level 15

How this kanji evolved

Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.

The character 羽 depicts a pair of wings with feathers. In its earliest oracle bone script forms, it clearly showed the symmetrical arrangement of feathers on a bird's wing. Over time, the character evolved through bronze script and seal script periods, becoming more stylized but maintaining the essential feather structure. The character means 'feather,' 'plumage,' or 'wing' and is used in words related to flight and birds. In Liushutong classification, it represents a pictographic character that directly illustrates the object it represents. Arrived in Japan: The character 羽 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system to Japan. It was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as a kanji, reading as 'ha' or 'hane' in native Japanese reading and 'u' in Sino-Japanese reading, maintaining its core meaning related to feathers and wings.

Reading reference

Onyomi (音読み)

ウ

Kunyomi (訓読み)

はねはわ

Related Vocabulary

羽
feather, plume, down, wing, shuttlecock (in badminton)