像

音読おんよみ: ゾウ / ぞう / zou

訓読くんよみ: none *

画数かくすう: 14 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: 人(にんべん)

Meaning

Figure, statue, or image — often used for visual representations like photographs, figures, mental images, or symbolic statues.


  • ぞう — image / statue
  • 仏像ぶつぞう — Buddha statue
  • 銅像どうぞう — bronze statue
  • 肖像しょうぞう — portrait
  • 映像えいぞう — video image / projection
  • 想像そうぞう — imagination
  • 現像げんぞう — photo development
  • 心像しんぞう — mental image

This kanji is a 形声 (keisei) character, combining the semantic element 人 (person) with the phonetic component 象 (ショウ / ゾウ). It suggests “the form of a person,” hence the meanings related to images, figures, and likenesses.

仏像ぶつぞうてら安置あんちされています。
A Buddha statue is enshrined at the temple.

かれ自分じぶん理想像りそうぞうもとめている。
He is pursuing his ideal self-image.

The main on-yomi reading is ゾウ. The kun-yomi かたち・かたどる is rare and usually found in classical contexts or compounds.

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