象
象 — Elephant
elephant, pattern after, imitate, image, shape, sign (of the times)
On’yomiショウ (shou)
On’yomiゾウ (zou)
Kun’yomiかたどる (katadoru)
Stroke order (12 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 象
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 対象 | たいしょう taishou | target; object (of worship, study, etc.); subject (of taxation, etc.) |
| 印象 | いんしょう inshou | impression |
| 現象 | げんしょう genshou | phenomenon |
| 気象庁 | きしょうちょう kishouchou | (Japanese) Meteorological Agency; JMA |
| 気象 | きしょう kishou | weather (conditions); disposition; temperament |
| 象徴 | しょうちょう shouchou | symbol (of something abstract); emblem; (symbolic) representation |
Study notes
象 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #394 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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