坂
坂 — Slope
slope, incline, hill
On’yomiハン (han)
Kun’yomiさか (saka)
Stroke order (7 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 坂
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 坂 | さか saka | slope; incline; hill |
| 下り坂 | くだりざか kudarizaka | downhill; downward slope; descent |
| 坂道 | さかみち sakamichi | hill road |
| 上り坂 | のぼりざか noborizaka | ascent; uphill; upward slope |
Study notes
坂 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #865 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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