明 · bright, clear

JLPT N4 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.

明 means bright, clear. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 8 strokes, read あか or めい. It is built from 2 parts: 日 (day, sun), 月 (month, moon). It appears in 明日 (tomorrow) and 明後日 (day after tomorrow).

筆順 · Stroke order

明 is written in 8 strokes, in the order numbered below. Order matters: it is what makes handwriting legible, and it is how the character is looked up in a paper dictionary.

解字 · What it is made of

明 breaks into 2 parts.

• 日 semantic day, sun · left carries the meaning
• 月 other month, moon · right component

Words that use 明

Word	Reading	Meaning
明日	あした	tomorrow
明後日	あさって	day after tomorrow
明日	あす	tomorrow

Built from the same parts

These use 日 or 月 too. The part keeps its job from one character to the next, which is what makes it worth learning once.

• 時time
• 曜day of week
• 書to write
• 映to reflect
• 早early
• 春springtime
• 者someone
• 音sound

Practise 明

Sumi teaches the character before it tests you: stroke order animated, the breakdown above shown as a pull-apart X-ray, then spaced review. Free, in your browser, no signup.

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