玉 means “jewel, ball”

たま · tama

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

たま

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ギョク

Taught in grade 1 · 5 strokes

The story

A king (王) with a precious dot: that single stroke transforms a ruler into a treasure. 玉 originally meant a polished jade sphere, prized above gold in East Asia. The imperial regalia of Japan includes the 八尺瓊勾玉 (Yasakani no Magatama), a sacred jewel passed down since mythological times.

Used in 宝玉 (hougyoku, precious gem), 目玉 (medama, eyeball), and 玉ねぎ (tamanegi, onion)

More from Earth & Minerals

• 鉄 iron
• 穴 hole
• 原 plain
• 銅 copper
• 炭 charcoal
• 泥 mud
• 宝 treasure
• 陸 land
• 掘 dig
• 鋼 steel
• 層 layer
• 鉱 ore

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

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