話 · to speak, story

JLPT N5 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.

話 means to speak, story. It is a JLPT N5 kanji written in 13 strokes, read はなす or わ. It is built from 2 parts: 言 (say, word), 舌 (tongue, reed). It appears in 電話 (a telephone) and 話す (to speak).

筆順 · Stroke order

話 is written in 13 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

話 breaks into 2 parts.

• 言 semantic say, word · left carries the meaning
• 舌 other tongue, reed · right component

Words that use 話

Word	Reading	Meaning
話	はなし	talk (chat) / story
電話	でんわ	a telephone
話す	はなす	to speak

Built from the same parts

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

• 読to read
• 記record
• 計measure
• 語language

Practise 話

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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