羽根

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 羽根(はね) means a bird's feather or a feather-shaped rotating part such as a fan blade.
• Basic usage: For an actual feather it appears as 白い羽根; for a mechanical blade it appears as 扇風機の羽根.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Identify the object from context
  • With a bird it means a feather, while with a fan or propeller it means a blade-like component.
• Difference from 翼
  • 翼(つばさ) refers to a bird's or aircraft's whole wing, while 羽根 can refer to an individual feather or a rotating blade.