革
革 — Leather
leather, skin, reform, become serious
On’yomiカク (kaku)
Kun’yomiかわ (kawa)
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 革
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 改革 | かいかく kaikaku | reform; reformation; reorganization |
| 革命 | かくめい kakumei | revolution; 58th year of the sexagenary cycle (in Onmyōdō) |
| 革新 | かくしん kakushin | reform; innovation |
| 変革 | へんかく henkaku | change; transformation; reform |
| 行革 | ぎょうかく gyoukaku | administrative reform |
| 革 | かわ kawa | leather |
Study notes
革 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #249 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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