東
東 — East
east
On’yomiトウ (tou)
Kun’yomiひがし (higashi)
Stroke order (8 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 東
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 東 | ひがし higashi | east |
| 東京 | とうきょう toukyou | Tokyo |
| 中東 | ちゅうとう chuutou | Middle East |
| 東海 | とうかい toukai | Tōkai region (of Honshu; incl. Aichi, Shizuoka, Mie and southern Gifu prefectures); eastern sea; Tōkaidō (Edo-period Edo-Kyoto highway) |
| 東北 | とうほく touhoku | north-east; Tōhoku (northernmost six prefectures of Honshu); Tohoku |
| 東欧 | とうおう touou | Eastern Europe |
Study notes
東 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #37 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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