綿
綿 — Cotton
cotton
On’yomiメン (men)
Kun’yomiわた (wata)
Stroke order (14 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 綿
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 綿 | わた wata | cotton plant (Gossypium spp.); batting; wadding |
| 綿密 | めんみつ menmitsu | minute; detailed; careful |
| 綿 | めん men | cotton |
| 木綿 | もめん momen | cotton (material); red silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba) |
| 綿花 | めんか menka | raw cotton; cotton wool |
| 綿糸 | めんし menshi | cotton yarn; cotton thread |
Study notes
綿 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 14 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1495 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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