KanjiJLPT N3
Cat

Mnemonic

A tiny beast crouches beside a seedling in the garden, batting at its tender leaves with soft paws. This ferocious beast? Just a cat — guarding its favorite seedling like a furry little farmer, convinced it planted the thing itself.
Additional thoughts
Picture a cat sitting protectively next to a small green sprout, paw gently resting on the soil. Beast + Seedling = the gentle beast of the garden, the cat. The 苗 (seedling) sits inside 犭 (beast) just like a seedling sits inside a cat's territory.
Quick recall
The beast guarding a seedling in the garden is just a cat playing farmer.

Details

The keyword for 猫 is cat. This kanji refers to the common domesticated feline, the cat, which has been a familiar companion animal in East Asian cultures for centuries. It encompasses all varieties of domestic cats and can also refer to small wild cats in certain contexts.
On'yomi
びょう
Kun'yomi
ねこ

Used in vocab