和
和 — Harmony
harmony, Japanese style, peace, soften, Japan
On’yomiワ (wa)
On’yomiオ (o)
On’yomiカ (ka)
Kun’yomiやわらぐ (yawaragu)
Kun’yomiやわらげる (yawarageru)
Kun’yomiなごむ (nagomu)
Kun’yomiなごやか (nagoyaka)
Kun’yomiあえる (aeru)
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 和
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 平和 | へいわ heiwa | peace; harmony |
| 和平 | わへい wahei | peace |
| グアテマラ共和国 | グアテマラきょうわこく guatemarakyouwakoku | Republic of Guatemala |
| 緩和 | かんわ kanwa | relief; mitigation; alleviation |
| 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 | ちょうせんみんしゅしゅぎじんみんきょうわこく chousenminshushugijinminkyouwakoku | Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea); DPRK |
| 和解 | わかい wakai | reconciliation; amicable settlement; accommodation |
Study notes
和 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #124 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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