What is the Kanji for "East"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "East" is "東".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Higashi".

Its onyomi reading is "Tou".

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 "木" means "Tree" and "Wood" and can be read as "Boku", "Ki", "Moku", and "Ko". And The kanji "日" means "Day" and "Sun" and can be read as "Jitsu", "Nichi", "Hi", and "Ka".

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

What does the kanji "東" mean in japanese?

"東" means "East".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Second Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N5 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

東: "East". The Japanese noun '東 (ひがし)' means 'east'. It refers to the cardinal direction that is opposite of west. This word is commonly used to describe the orientation or location of something in relation to the east. For example: My house faces east - (私の家は東を向いている). The sun rises in the east - (太陽は東から昇る).

東洋: "East". The Japanese noun '東洋 (とうよう)' refers to the eastern part of the world, particularly Asia. It is commonly used to contrast with the 'West' or 'Western countries'. This term has a broad connotation and can refer to the cultural, geographical, or political aspects of the eastern region. For example: The cultures of the East are diverse - (東洋の文化は多様である). Japan is considered part of the East - (日本は東洋に属するとみなされている).

東西: "East and west". The noun '東西 (とうざい)' refers to the cardinal directions of east and west. It is used to indicate the entire expanse or breadth from one side to the other in an east-west direction. For example: The exhibition showcased art pieces from east to west - (東西の芸術作品が展示されていた). It can also be used metaphorically to refer to the contrast or differences between two disparate things or ideas. For instance: The cultural traditions of the east and west differ greatly - (東西の文化伝統は大きく異なる).

南東: "Southeast". The Japanese noun '南東 (なんとう)' refers to the southeast direction. It is one of the cardinal directions, specifically the direction between south and east. This word can be used to describe the orientation or location of something in relation to the southeast. For example: The window faces southeast - (その窓は南東を向いている). The house is located in the southeast corner of the block - (その家は街区の南東隅にある).

北東: "Northeast". The noun '北東 (ほくとう)' refers to the northeastern direction. It is used to describe a location or direction that is in the northeast part of an area. For example: The house is located in the northeast part of the city - (その家は街の北東部にあります).

東南: "Southeast". The noun '東南 (とうなん)' refers to the southeast direction or region. It is often used in geography to indicate the southeastern part of a larger area. For example: I live in the southeast part of the city - (私は街の東南の部分に住んでいます). The southeast region of the country has a tropical climate - (国の東南地域は熱帯気候です).

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 "と" is read as "to". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "ひ" is read as "hi". The hiragana "が" is read as "ga". And The hiragana "し" is read as "shi".

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.