声
声 — Voice
voice
On’yomiセイ (sei)
On’yomiショウ (shou)
Kun’yomiこえ (koe)
Kun’yomiこわ- (kowa)
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 声
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 声 | こえ koe | voice; singing (of a bird); chirping (of an insect) |
| 声明 | せいめい seimei | declaration; statement; proclamation |
| 音声 | おんせい onsei | voice; speech; sound of a voice |
| 歓声 | かんせい kansei | cheer; shout of joy |
| 声援 | せいえん seien | (shout of) encouragement; cheering; rooting |
| 声楽 | せいがく seigaku | vocal music |
Study notes
声 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #388 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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