縄 means “rope, cord”

なわ · nawa

Also: straw rope

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

なわ, ただす

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ジョウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 4 · 15 strokes

The story

Thread (糸) beside a shape once drawn as a fat-bellied frog: picture rope coiled thick and lumpy. 縄 is straw rope: 縄張り, turf, was once land marked out with rope, the 縄文 era is named for cord-marked pottery, and 沖縄 is Okinawa.

Used in 沖縄 (okinawa, Okinawa), 縄張り (nawabari, turf/territory), and 縄文 (joumon, Jomon period)

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