straw rope, cord
On'yomi (音読み)
- ジョウ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- なわ
- ただ.す
About this kanji
The kanji 縄 (nawa) primarily means "rope" or "cord." It is often used as a noun, and you can see it in interesting compounds. For example, 沖縄 (Okinawa) is a region in Japan, while 縄文 (Jomon) refers to a style of ancient pottery that featured a rope pattern. Another common term is 縄張り (nawabari), which means a territory marked out by ropes. This kanji can also appear in daily language, like in 腰縄 (koshinawa), meaning a type of leash. A quick note: when you see this kanji, it often evokes ideas of connection or boundaries.
Example sentences
縄を使って物を結ぶ。
I tie things with a rope.
Meanings across languages
- English
- straw rope, cord
- Tiếng Việt
- dây thừng
- 日本語
- 縄
- 한국어
- 줄
- 中文
- 绳
- id
- tali jerami, tali
- th
- เชือกฟาง, สาย
- es
- cuerda de paja, cordón
- fr
- corde de paille, cordon
- de
- Strohseil, Schnur
- pt
- corda de palha, cordão
Common compounds
- 沖縄おきなわOkinawa (city, prefecture)
- 縄文じょうもんstraw-rope pattern pressed into earthenware, Jōmon period (ca. 14000-1000 BCE)
- 縄張りなわばりstretching a rope around, roping off, cordoning off
- 一筋縄ひとすじなわ(piece of) rope, ordinary method
- 腰縄こしなわleash, rope tied round prisoner's waists
- 火縄銃ひなわじゅうmatchlock, arquebus
- 縄跳びなわとびskipping rope, jump rope, skipping
- 荷縄になわpacking cord
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.