What is the Kanji for "Dance"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Dance" is "踊".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Odo".

Its onyomi reading is "You".

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 radical "⻊" means "Foot" . And The radical "甬" means "Path" .

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

What does the kanji "踊" mean in japanese?

"踊" means "Dance".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Junior Highschool, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

踊る: "Dance". The verb '踊る (おどる)' means 'to dance'. This verb is used to describe the act of moving rhythmically to music, often with steps, spins, and other choreographed movements. It can be used to describe professional dancers as well as casual dancing at parties or celebrations. For example: She dances beautifully - (彼女は美しく踊る). Let's dance! - (一緒に踊ろう!)

踊り: "Dance". The Japanese noun '踊り (おどり)' refers to the act of dancing. This word can be used to describe various forms of traditional or modern dance, such as classical Japanese dances, folk dances, or social dances. It is a versatile term that can be applied to both ceremonial and recreational dancing. For example: She is a skilled dancer - (彼女は熟練した踊り手だ). Let's go to a dance party - (踊りのパーティーに行きましょう).

盆踊り: "Bon dance". The Japanese noun '盆踊り (ぼんおどり)' refers to a traditional Japanese folk dance performed during the Obon festival, a Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. The bon dance is usually held around Buddhist temples or community centers, with participants forming a circle and dancing to lively music played on traditional instruments. It is a joyful celebration of family, tradition, and connection with one's cultural heritage. For example: We went to the local temple for the bon dance festival - (地元のお寺で盆踊りのお祭りに行った).

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 "よ" is read as "yo". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "お" is read as "o". And The hiragana "ど" is read as "do".

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.