Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 昴

Level:N1 Mid
Strokes:9
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji represents the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. It's a group of stars visible in the night sky. The character conveys a sense of celestial beauty, clustering, and association.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ボウ (bō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): すばる (subaru)

Usage Examples

⚫︎ 昴星団 Translation: Pleiades star cluster ⚫︎ すばらしい Translation: wonderful, excellent (indirectly referencing the beauty of the Pleiades) ⚫︎ スバル (Subaru) Translation: Subaru (car manufacturer's name, derived from the Pleiades)

Origin and Formation

The kanji is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. The character is composed of the radical 日 (hi, meaning "sun" or "day") on the top, and 卯 (bō, meaning "hare" or "rabbit", but here it acts phonetically). The "日" part indicates that the Pleiades is a celestial body, while the 卯 part provides the sound and possibly hints at the star cluster's association with the zodiac signs. The formation of the character could be interpreted as stars appearing in the sky like the "day" or the sun. The combination creates the meaning related to the stars.

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