昼
昼 — Daytime
daytime, noon
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
Kun’yomiひる (hiru)
Stroke order (9 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 昼
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昼 | ひる hiru | noon; midday; daytime |
| 昼食 | ちゅうしょく chuushoku | lunch; midday meal |
| 昼間 | ひるま hiruma | daytime; during the day; time from sunrise until sunset |
| 昼過ぎ | ひるすぎ hirusugi | just past noon; afternoon |
| 昼夜 | ちゅうや chuuya | day and night |
| 昼休み | ひるやすみ hiruyasumi | lunch break; noon recess; noon rest period |
Study notes
昼 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1115 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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