面
面 — Mask
mask, face, features, surface
On’yomiメン (men)
On’yomiベン (ben)
Kun’yomiおも (omo)
Kun’yomiおもて (omote)
Kun’yomiつら (tsura)
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 面
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 全面 | ぜんめん zenmen | whole surface; entire |
| 当面 | とうめん toumen | current; urgent; pressing |
| 面 | つら tsura | face; mug; surface |
| 場面 | ばめん bamen | scene; setting; place (where something happens) |
| 画面 | がめん gamen | screen (of a TV, computer, etc.); image (on a screen); picture |
| 局面 | きょくめん kyokumen | position in a game; state of the game; situation |
Study notes
面 is a JLPT N3 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 #186 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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