夏
夏 — Summer
summer
On’yomiカ (ka)
On’yomiガ (ga)
On’yomiゲ (ge)
Kun’yomiなつ (natsu)
Stroke order (10 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 夏
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 夏 | なつ natsu | summer |
| 夏休み | なつやすみ natsuyasumi | summer vacation; summer holiday |
| 今夏 | こんか konka | this summer; next summer; last summer |
| 冷夏 | れいか reika | cool summer; cold summer; cooler-than-normal summer |
| 夏場 | なつば natsuba | summertime; summer season |
| 夏季 | かき kaki | summer season; summer; summertime |
Study notes
夏 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #659 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).
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