像 means “statue, image”

ぞう · zou

Also: picture, figure

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ゾウ

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 5 · 14 strokes

The story

A person (亻) beside an elephant (象). An old Chinese text says people who had never seen one imagined the animal from its bones, so 象 came to mean an image. 像 is a likeness: 想像 is imagining, and ハチ公像 is Hachiko's statue at Shibuya.

Used in 想像 (souzou, imagination), 画像 (gazou, image/picture), and 銅像 (douzou, bronze statue)

More from Respect & Ritual

• 栄 flourish
• 敬 respect
• 祭 festival
• 賢 wise
• 尊 revered
• 祝 celebrate
• 拝 worship
• 祈 pray
• 召 summon
• 伺 humbly ask
• 賞 prize
• 占 fortune-telling

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

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