mud

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 泥 has 8 strokes and denotes mud.
• Basic usage: 泥棒 is read どろぼう, and 泥 is read どろ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A person and a substance
  • 物語の泥棒 is the thief in a story.
  • 泥 in 靴に泥が付いた refers to mud stuck to shoes.
• The object of an action
  • 泥を丸めて means rolling mud into a rounded shape, with を marking what is shaped.