肩（かた、kata）
- shoulder

The Japanese word 肩 肩 primarily refers to the "shoulder" in English. It denotes the part of the body connecting the arm to the torso. Beyond the anatomical meaning, 肩 肩 can also be used figuratively to describe something that supports or carries a burden, much like the shoulder bears the weight.

⚫︎ 肩肩が凝る Translation: My shoulders are stiff. ⚫︎ 彼女は彼の肩肩に頭をのせた Translation: She rested her head on his shoulder. ⚫︎ 彼はリーダーとしての責任を肩肩に背負っていた Translation: He carried the responsibility of being a leader on his shoulders.

肩 肩 is a common word, used in everyday conversation and in more formal settings. You can use it to talk about physical ailments like stiffness, to describe physical actions (like putting your hand on someone's shoulder), or to express metaphorical concepts like responsibility or support.

The word 肩 is typically written with the kanji 肩. The reading in hiragana is かた. There are no variations in okurigana. It's always written as 肩.

There aren't direct synonyms for "shoulder" in the same way, but related terms might include: ⚫︎ 腕 (ude) - Arm ⚫︎ 背中 (senaka) - Back ⚫︎ 首 (kubi) - Neck

There aren't specific antonyms in the same sense as synonyms, as 肩 肩 refers to a body part.

最近、肩肩こりがひどくて困っています。 ・Translation: Recently, I'm having a lot of trouble with stiff shoulders. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 肩肩こり, which means "stiff shoulders," a common physical complaint.

彼はその問題を一人で肩肩に背負い込んだ。 ・Translation: He shouldered the problem alone. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 肩肩 metaphorically to mean "to take on a burden" or "to bear responsibility."

The etymology of 肩 isn't definitively known, but it's believed to be an Old Japanese word. The kanji 肩 itself is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a character that combines a semantic component (relating to the meaning) and a phonetic component (relating to the pronunciation). In this case, the meaning likely relates to the body, and the phonetic component contributes to the sound.