鉄
鉄 — Iron
iron
On’yomiテツ (tetsu)
Kun’yomiくろがね (kurogane)
Stroke order (13 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 鉄
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鉄道 | てつどう tetsudou | railroad; railway; rail transport |
| 鉄 | てつ tetsu | iron (Fe); steel; iron (will, discipline, lady, etc.) |
| 鉄鋼 | てっこう tekkou | iron and steel |
| 地下鉄 | ちかてつ chikatetsu | subway; metro; underground (railway) |
| 国鉄 | こくてつ kokutetsu | national railway; Japan National Railways (1949-1987) |
| 電鉄 | でんてつ dentetsu | electric railway |
Study notes
鉄 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #672 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.