欧 means “Europe”

おう · ou

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

うたう, はく

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

オウ

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 8 strokes

The story

A ward (区) and a wide-open mouth (欠): picture a tourist gaping at an old European square. 欧 comes from 欧羅巴, an old way of writing Europe, so 欧米 is Europe and America, the West, and 北欧, Northern Europe, is a favorite label in Japanese homeware shops.

Used in 欧米 (oubei, Europe and America/the West), 欧州 (oushuu, Europe), and 北欧 (hokuou, Northern Europe)

More from Maps & Borders

• 辺 vicinity
• 湾 bay
• 周 around
• 央 center
• 河 river
• 坂 slope
• 郊 suburbs
• 湖 lake
• 島 island
• 境 border
• 州 state
• 域 region

Learn 欧 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.