向
向 — Yonder
yonder, facing, beyond, confront, defy, tend toward
On’yomiコウ (kou)
Kun’yomiむく (muku)
Kun’yomiむい (mui)
Kun’yomi-むき (muki)
Kun’yomiむける (mukeru)
Kun’yomi-むけ (muke)
Stroke order (6 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 向
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 方向 | ほうこう houkou | direction; orientation; bearing |
| 意向 | いこう ikou | intention; inclination; mind |
| 傾向 | けいこう keikou | tendency; trend; inclination |
| 向上 | こうじょう koujou | elevation; rise; improvement |
| 動向 | どうこう doukou | trend; tendency; movement |
| 向かって左 | むかってひだり mukattehidari | on the left as one faces (it) |
Study notes
向 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #182 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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