婆
KANJI DETAIL
old woman
On readingNone11 strokesN1
Radical 女 · womanStroke order
Loading the stroke order for 婆.
Japanese readings
- On reading
- None
- Kun reading
- ばば
Study notes
1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning
- Structure:
婆refers to an elderly woman; its kun-reading isばば. - Basic usage:
お婆さん(おばあさん)means a grandmother or elderly woman, while老婆(ろうば)means an old woman.
2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions
- A family term and an elderly woman
お婆さんcan refer to a lost elderly woman as well as to a grandmother in the family.老婆appears in a narrative describing an old woman in a folktale.お婆さんhas the longばあin the middle, while老婆ends inば. The readings areおばあさんandろうばrespectively.