翼 means “wing”

つばさ · tsubasa

Also: plane, flank

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

つばさ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ヨク

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 17 strokes

The story

Feathers (羽) over 異, a figure with arms flung up: picture wings lifting off. 翼 is the wing of a bird or a plane, politics borrowed it for 右翼 and 左翼, right and left wing, and soccer fans know キャプテン翼, Captain Tsubasa.

Used in 翼 (tsubasa, wing), 右翼 (uyoku, right wing), and 左翼 (sayoku, left wing)

More from Beasts & Wings

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• 巣 nest
• 虎 tiger
• 昆 insects
• 獣 beast
• 殻 shell
• 鶏 chicken
• 雌 female (animal)
• 蛍 firefly
• 牙 fang
• 蚊 mosquito
• 蜂 bee

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