# 養 — nourish; foster

養 means “nourish; foster”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 15 strokes. On'yomi: ヨウ (you). Kun'yomi: やしな(う) (yashinau). You'll see it in words such as 養う (yashinau, “to support; to maintain”).

- Meaning: nourish; foster
- On'yomi: ヨウ (you)
- Kun'yomi: やしな(う) (yashinau)
- Strokes: 15
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Family 1

## How to remember 養

Sounds like 羊: both read ヨウ.

Parts: 羊 sheep · 食 eat; food

## Words with 養

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 養う | やしなう (yashinau) | to support; to maintain |

## Don't confuse it with

[善](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/virtuous/) · [詳](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/in-detail/) · [着](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/arrive/) · [様](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/manner/)

## More in the “Family 1” set

[氏](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/family-name/) · [遺](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bequeath/) · [養](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/nourish/) · [誕](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/birth/) · [孝](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/filial-piety/) · [曽](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/formerly/) · [妊](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/pregnant/) · [稚](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/immature/) · [嫁](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bride/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/nourish/. Last updated 2026-11-01.