番
番 — Turn
turn, number in a series
On’yomiバン (ban)
Kun’yomiつがい (tsugai)
Stroke order (12 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 番
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一番 | いちばん ichiban | number one; first; first place |
| 番組 | ばんぐみ bangumi | program (e.g. TV); programme |
| 番号 | ばんごう bangou | number; series of digits |
| 本番 | ほんばん honban | performance (as opposed to practice); going before an audience or on-air; take |
| 番手 | ばんて bante | (yarn) count; nth place (in a race); nth position (in a starting lineup) |
| 出番 | でばん deban | one's turn; one's shift; one's turn on stage |
Study notes
番 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #348 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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