城
城 — Castle
castle
On’yomiジョウ (jou)
On’yomiセイ (sei)
Kun’yomiしろ (shiro)
Stroke order (9 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 城
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 城 | しろ shiro | castle |
| 城内 | じょうない jounai | inside of a castle; area surrounded by castle walls |
| 城下町 | じょうかまち joukamachi | castle town; city in Japan that developed around the castle of a feudal lord |
| 城壁 | じょうへき jouheki | castle wall; town walls; defensive wall |
| 城跡 | しろあと shiroato | castle site; ruins of a castle |
| 金城 | きんじょう kinjou | impregnable castle; inner castle citadel; golden castle (nickname for Nagoya Castle) |
Study notes
城 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #795 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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