How to say "feather" in Japanese

• 羽はねJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounA feather as an individual thing: one plume, or down. Reach for it when you mean a single feather you could point to, such as one a bird has shed.
  立派りっぱな羽はねが立派りっぱな鳥とりをつくる。↗

  Fine feathers make fine birds.
• 羽毛うもうCommon
  nounFeathers as a collective or a material: a bird's plumage, or feather and down in bulk. It treats feathers as a mass or covering rather than as one particular feather.
  雄おすのくじゃくは尾おの羽毛うもうが色彩しきさい豊ゆたかである。↗

  The male peacock has colorful tail feathers.

Use 羽 for a feather as an individual object — one plume or bit of down — and 羽毛 for feathers taken collectively, as a bird's plumage or as feather-and-down material.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 羽はねfeather
• 羽毛うもうfeather
• フェザーfeather