Explore 玉 in round objects and everyday expressions. Learn its reading with each complete word.

The idea

玉 has five strokes; follow the linked diagram. 玉 is たま in 玉ねぎ, but becomes だま in 目玉 and シャボン玉. 電球 and 地球 use 球, read きゅう.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
玉たま
玉ねぎたまねぎ
シャボン玉しゃぼんだま
目玉めだま
電球でんきゅう
地球ちきゅう

Examples

  • 子こどもが赤あかい玉たまを拾ひろいました。The child picked up a red ball.
  • 玉たまねぎを一ひとつ切きりました。I cut one onion.
  • シャボン玉だまが空そらに浮うかんでいます。Soap bubbles are floating in the sky.
  • 新あたらしい電球でんきゅうを買かいました。I bought a new light bulb.
  • この展示てんじの目玉めだまは大おおきな絵えです。This exhibition’s main attraction is a large painting.
  • 地球ちきゅうは太陽たいようの周まわりを回まわっています。The Earth goes around the Sun.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

玉 and 王 look alike; 玉 has an extra dot. 球 also relates to round objects, but is a different character. 目玉 can mean an eyeball or a main attraction.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 玉ねぎ in hiragana.

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    たまねぎ

    玉ねぎ is たまねぎ, an onion. Learn たま with the whole word.

  2. Write the reading of 電球 in hiragana.

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    でんきゅう

    電球 is でんきゅう, a light bulb. It uses 球, not 玉.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 目＿（めだま）［玉／王］.

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    玉

    玉 completes 目玉（めだま）; here it means a main attraction. The reading changes from たま to だま.

Use it today

Write 玉 following the diagram. Cover the table, read 玉ねぎ and 目玉, then make a sentence with one.