Meaning

Primary

Queen

Word Type

noun, suffix

Explanation

The woman king is the queen.

You know this because the woman who comes before the king must be the queen. Imagine this woman in front, leading the king around. Only a queen could do that!

For a more technical explanation, just remember that when a word consists of two kanji characters, the first kanji often modifies the second. In this case, modifies , making it the woman king, a.k.a. the queen!

Reading

じょおう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well. That said, this reading can be easy to confuse with other similar words, so here's a mnemonic to help you out:

The queen is named Jo-Ann (じょ), or Jo for short, and she's always joking. Hey, wait a minute. Jo… king. … king. Jo… おう!! 女王! Get it? When you think of the queen, just remember how much she loves joking (女王).

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 女王さま

    the queen

    女王バチ

    a queen bee

    女王アリ

    a queen ant

Context Sentences

それは、女王のネックレスです。

It is the queen's necklace.

女王の本はベストセラーになった。

The Queen's book has become a bestseller.

エリザベス女王とは、五十年もペンパルでした。

I was a penpal with Queen Elizabeth for fifty years.

Kanji Composition