島
島 — Island
island
On’yomiトウ (tou)
Kun’yomiしま (shima)
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 島
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 島 | しま shima | island; one's territory (of a sex worker, organized crime gang, etc.); one's turf |
| 朝鮮半島 | ちょうせんはんとう chousenhantou | Korean peninsula |
| 中島 | なかじま nakajima | island in a pond or river |
| 小島 | こじま kojima | small island; islet |
| 半島 | はんとう hantou | peninsula; Korea |
| 列島 | れっとう rettou | archipelago; chain of islands |
Study notes
島 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #245 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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