Kanji Library
KanjiJLPT N1 › 典

典 — Code

JLPT N18 strokesGrade 4#1055 most used
code, ceremony, law, rule
On’yomiテン (ten)
On’yomiデン (den)
Kun’yomiふみ (fumi)
Kun’yomiのり (nori)

Stroke order (8 strokes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).

Common words using 典

WordReadingMeaning
式典しきてん
shikiten
ceremony; rites
古典こてん
koten
classic (work, esp. book); the classics
典型てんけい
tenkei
type; pattern; model
辞典じてん
jiten
dictionary; lexicon
祭典さいてん
saiten
festival
事典じてん
jiten
encyclopedia

Study notes

典 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1055 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).

← 綱 hawser賀 congratulations →

🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.