音 · sound, noise

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

音 means sound, noise. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 9 strokes, read おと or ね or おん. It is built from 2 parts: 立 (stand up, rise), 日 (day, sun). It appears in 音楽 (Music) and 発音 (pronunciation).

筆順 · Stroke order

音 is written in 9 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

音 breaks into 2 parts.

• 立 other stand up, rise · top component
• 日 other day, sun · bottom component

Words that use 音

Word	Reading	Meaning
音楽	おんがく	Music
音	おと	sound / note
発音	はつおん	pronunciation

Built from the same parts

These use 立 or 日 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
• 明bright
• 映to reflect
• 早early
• 春springtime
• 者someone

Practise 音

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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