tower

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 塔 means tower; its on-reading is とう.
• Basic usage: 塔(とう) can refer to a tower or a temple pagoda; a five-story pagoda is 五重塔.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A reading that includes an unwritten の
  • 五重塔 is read ごじゅうのとう. Learn the whole reading, including the の that is not written between the characters.