昭
昭 — Shining
shining, bright
On’yomiショウ (shou)
Kun’yomi—
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 昭
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昭和 | しょうわ shouwa | Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7); reminiscent of the Shōwa era; Shōwa-nostalgic |
Study notes
昭 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #697 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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