鳥 — JLPT N5 Kanji
鳥 (チョウ/とり): bird. JLPT N5 essential kanji.
鳥
JLPT Level: N5 | Strokes: 11 | Radical: 鳥 (bird)
Readings
| Type | Reading | Romaji | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-yomi | チョウ | choo | bird in compounds |
| Kun-yomi | とり | tori | bird |
Meanings
- Bird
- Chicken (as food: 鶏肉 is often shortened to とり)
- Poultry
Vocabulary
| Word | Reading | Romaji | English | JLPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鳥 | とり | tori | bird | N5 |
| 小鳥 | ことり | kotori | small bird | N5 |
| 鶏肉 | とりにく | toriniku | chicken (meat) | N5 |
| 野鳥 | やちょう | yachoo | wild bird | N4 |
| 鳥居 | とりい | torii | Shinto gate (torii) | N4 |
Stroke Order
1-4. Top: eye and head of bird (four strokes) 5-8. Middle: body strokes 9-11. Bottom: four tail strokes spread out (like 灬 fire radical)
Memory Aid
鳥 is a pictograph of a bird — the top portion is the head and beak, the middle is the body and wing, and the four bottom strokes are the bird's tail feathers fanning out. You can trace the bird silhouette.
Common Confusion
鳥 (bird with tail feathers, 11 strokes) vs 烏 (crow, 10 strokes) — 烏 is missing one stroke (the eye stroke is absent, because a crow is so black you can't see its eye). This is a famous kanji distinction.