蛙 means “frog”

かえる · kaeru

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

かえる, かわず

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ア, ワ

12 strokes

The story

Matsuo Bashō's most famous haiku: "Old pond / a frog jumps in / the sound of water." 蛙 also sounds like 帰る (kaeru, to return): travelers carry frog charms to ensure a safe journey home.

Used in 蛙泳ぎ (kaeru oyogi, breaststroke; lit. "frog swimming")

More from Animals & Creatures

• 犬 dog
• 猫 cat
• 牛 cow
• 馬 horse
• 虫 insect
• 羊 sheep
• 豚 pig
• 鹿 deer
• 熊 bear
• 蛇 snake
• 兎 rabbit
• 象 elephant

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

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