字の旅3,000 years in four forms
Oracle bone · ShangShang · c. 1200 BCE
Oracle bone and bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
部首Radical · in Animals & Wildlife
馬 horse
うま uma
10 strokesRadical of 12 kanjiPart of 12
Origin · sourced
Pictogram象形
A horse with its head facing the left, showing a flowing mane in the wind, standing vertically on two legs. In the bronze inscriptions, the head was often simplified into an eye (目).
Source: Wiktionary, 馬 (rev. 93388368), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Gallop ahead! Imagine a spirited stallion charging across a field, its mane flying in the wind. This radical represents speed, transportation, and the "horsepower" that has driven humanity forward for centuries. When you see it, think of a long journey, the strength of a "stationed" guard, and the unstoppable energy of a horse in motion.”
Where it sits in a kanji
Indicates horses, speed, transportation, traveling, being stationed/stopped, or concepts associated with animals that can be ridden or used for labor.
What it grows into
- 験verificationケン · あかし
馬 + 僉sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, 驗, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 駅stationエキ
馬 + 睪sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, 驛, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 駐stop-overチュウ
馬 + 主sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Every kanji with 馬 as its radical
All 12 kanji