泥 means “mud”

どろ · doro

Also: mire, adhere to, be attached to

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): どろ, なずむ
On'yomi (Chinese reading): デイ, ナイ, デ, ニ

Taught in secondary school · 8 strokes

The story

Water (氵) clinging to the earth (尼): mud, the primal mixture. Japanese pottery begins with 泥, and the tradition of 泥染め (dorozome, mud-dyeing) on Amami Ōshima island creates rich brown fabrics by soaking silk in iron-rich mud. From filth comes beauty.

Used in 泥棒 (dorobou, thief), 泥沼 (doronuma, quagmire), and 泥だらけ (dorodarake, covered in mud)

泥 means “mud”

The story

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