羽 - FEATHERS

Readings & Meanings:

ウ

は

はね

feather, wing, （わ　－　counter for birds）

Common Usage:

羽ばたく

羽布団

羽根

Examples:

公園で鳩が一斉に羽ばたいた。

羽布団で寝る。

昨日、背中に羽根が生えた夢を見た。

Translations:

In the park, a pigeon suddenly flapped its wings.

I sleep with a feather-down quilt.

Yesterday I had a dream in which I sprouted wings on my back.

Radical:

羽 is its own radical. It's also a picture of bird feathers. It's used in a few other kanji. My favorite is 習う, to learn. Kanji Networks explains the connection as thus:

repeated flapping of a bird's wings against its body → learn (← learn by repetition ← repeated action) → accustomed; custom; take lessons.

But I prefer to think of learning as taking your mind on a flight of thought. Not very old-Japanese of me, I guess.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/tnetwork/TAP.html#TAP10
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/kanji/kanji/u.htm