馬
馬 — Horse
horse
On’yomiバ (ba)
Kun’yomiうま (uma)
Kun’yomiうま- (uma)
Kun’yomiま (ma)
Stroke order (10 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 馬
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 馬 | うま uma | horse; horse racing; promoted bishop |
| 出馬 | しゅつば shutsuba | running (for election); coming forward as a candidate; going on horseback (to a battle) |
| 競馬 | けいば keiba | horse racing |
| 馬場 | ばば baba | riding ground; racecourse; racetrack |
| 競馬場 | けいばじょう keibajou | racecourse; race track |
| 馬券 | ばけん baken | betting ticket; betting slip |
Study notes
馬 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #639 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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