What is the Kanji for "Breath"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Breath", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Breath" is "息".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Iki".

Its onyomi reading is "Soku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "心" means "Heart" and can be read as "Shin" and "Kokoro". And The kanji "自" means "Self" and can be read as "Ji", "Shi", and "Mizuka".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "息" mean in japanese?

"息" means "Breath".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

息子: "Son". The Japanese noun '息子 (むすこ)' means 'son'. This word refers to a male child in relation to their parents. It is commonly used to describe one's own son or the son of another person. For example: My son is 10 years old - (私の息子は10歳です). She has a son - (彼女には息子がいます).

息: "Breath". The noun '息 (いき)' means 'breath'. It refers to the air that is drawn into and expelled from the lungs. This word is used to describe the act of breathing, as well as the air itself. For example: I cannot catch my breath - (息が苦しい). He took a deep breath - (深く息をした).

ため息: "Sigh". The Japanese noun 'ため息 (ためいき)' means 'sigh'. It refers to a deep, audible exhalation that is often used to express sadness, frustration, or relief. This noun can be used to describe the act of sighing, as well as the sound produced. For example: She let out a sigh - (彼女はため息をついた). The patient sighed deeply - (患者はため息をついた).

利息: "Interest". The Japanese noun '利息 (りそく)' means 'interest'. This term refers to the amount of money paid regularly (typically a percentage) for the use of money lent or invested. For example: The bank pays interest on my savings account - (銀行は私の預金口座に利息を支払っています). I need to pay the monthly interest on my loan - (私は借入の毎月の利息を払わなければなりません).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "そ" is read as "so". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". The hiragana "い" is read as "i". And The hiragana "き" is read as "ki".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.