尾(お)

お
noun
tail
1. tail
The rear appendage of an animal.
犬(いぬ)が尾(お)を振(ふ)っている。
The dog is wagging its tail.
頭(あたま)から尾(お)まで。
From head to tail.
猫(ねこ)が尾(お)を立(た)てている。
The cat has its tail raised.
魚(さかな)の尾(お)を切(き)る。
To cut off the fish's tail.
鳥(とり)の尾(お)が美(うつく)しい。
The bird's tail is beautiful.
馬(うま)が尾(お)で虫(むし)を払(はら)った。
The horse swished its tail to brush away insects.
2. end, trail
The final or trailing part of something.
尾(お)を引(ひ)く。
To leave a trail; to have lingering effects.
Idiom
この問題(もんだい)は尾(お)を引(ひ)きそうだ。
This problem seems likely to have lingering effects.
彗星(すいせい)が長(なが)い尾(お)を引(ひ)いている。
The comet has a long trail.
話(はなし)に尾(お)ひれを付(つ)ける。
To embellish a story.
事件(じけん)はまだ尾(お)を引(ひ)いている。
The incident still has lingering effects.

尾(お) refers to an animal's tail, or figuratively to the trailing end of something.

READINGS:

  • お: standalone and native-style compounds
  • び: in Sino-Japanese compounds (尾行(びこう), 末尾(まつび))

IDIOMS AND PATTERNS:

  • 尾(お)を振(ふ)る: to wag the tail
  • 尾(お)を引(ひ)く: to have lingering effects, to leave a trail
  • 尾(お)ひれを付(つ)ける: to embellish a story (literally, to add a tail and fins)
  • 頭(あたま)から尾(お)まで: from head to tail

COMMON COMPOUNDS:

  • 尾行(びこう): tailing, following someone secretly
  • 末尾(まつび): end, conclusion (of a document or list)
  • 尾翼(びよく): tail wing (of an aircraft)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • しっぽ: tail (colloquial, used in everyday speech — more common than 尾(お) in casual contexts)
  • 尻尾(しっぽ): tail (kanji form of しっぽ)

Related Words

Synonym: しっぽ (tail (colloquial))
core
Added 2026.1.9 21:30 · Revised 2026.4.2 15:19
01500/01898_o