衛
衛 — Defense
defense, protection
On’yomiエイ (ei)
On’yomiエ (e)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (16 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 衛
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自衛隊 | じえいたい jieitai | Japan Self-Defense Forces; JSDF; self-defence force |
| 防衛 | ぼうえい bouei | defense; defence; protection |
| 衛星 | えいせい eisei | (natural) satellite; moon; (artificial) satellite |
| 防衛庁 | ぼうえいちょう boueichou | Japan Defense Agency (became Ministry of Defense in January 2007) |
| 衛生 | えいせい eisei | hygiene; sanitation; cleanliness |
| 自衛 | じえい jiei | self-defense; self-defence |
Study notes
衛 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 16 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #400 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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