畳 means “tatami mat”

たたみ · tatami

Also: counter for tatami mats, fold, shut up

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): たたむ, たたみ, かさなる
On'yomi (Chinese reading): ジョウ, チョウ

Taught in secondary school · 12 strokes

The story

Field (田) layered and folded: 畳 are woven rush mats that define Japanese rooms. Room sizes in Japan are still measured in 畳: a six-tatami room, an eight-tatami room. Walking barefoot on fresh 畳 in summer, smelling the sweet rush grass, is one of life's quiet pleasures.

Used in 畳む (tatamu, to fold), 畳の部屋 (tatami no heya, tatami room)

Where it comes from

Compound Ideographic (会意文字): Layers of woven material stacked on fields.

The character shows a rice-field grid (田) pattern suggesting the woven texture of rush grass mats. These mats define Japanese living spaces; room sizes are still measured in tatami units.

To remember it: A grid pattern (田) like the weave of a tatami mat: foldable (畳む) flooring!

Example sentences

この部屋は六畳です。 This room is six tatami mats.
畳の上で昼寝をしました。 I took a nap on the tatami.

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