冬
冬 — Winter
winter
On’yomiトウ (tou)
Kun’yomiふゆ (fuyu)
Stroke order (5 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 冬
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冬 | ふゆ fuyu | winter |
| 冬季 | とうき touki | winter season; winter |
| 暖冬 | だんとう dantou | mild winter; warm winter |
| 冬場 | ふゆば fuyuba | wintertime; winter season |
| 越冬 | えっとう ettou | passing the winter; hibernation |
| 春夏秋冬 | しゅんかしゅうとう shunkashuutou | spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; the four seasons |
Study notes
冬 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1090 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.