界
界 — World
world, boundary
On’yomiカイ (kai)
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 界
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 業界 | ぎょうかい gyoukai | business world; business circles; (the) industry |
| 世界 | せかい sekai | the world; society; the universe |
| 政界 | せいかい seikai | (world of) politics; political world; political circles |
| 財界 | ざいかい zaikai | financial world; business circles |
| 限界 | げんかい genkai | limit; bound |
| 世界的 | せかいてき sekaiteki | worldwide; global; international |
Study notes
界 is a JLPT N4 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 #158 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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