What is the Kanji for "Effective"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Effective" is "効".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Ki".

Its onyomi reading is "Kou".

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 "交" means "Mix" and can be read as "Ka", "Kou", "Ma", and "Maji". And The kanji "力" means "Power" and can be read as "Riki", "Ryoku", and "Chikara".

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

What does the kanji "効" mean in japanese?

"効" means "Effective".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

効果: "Effect". The noun '効果 (こうか)' means 'effect'. It refers to the result or consequence of an action or cause. This word is commonly used to describe the impact or influence of something. For example: The medicine had a positive effect - (薬の効果は良かった). The advertisement had a big effect on sales - (広告の効果が大きかった).

有効: "Effective". The Japanese adjectival noun '有効 (ゆうこう)' means 'effective'. It describes something that produces the intended result or has a useful purpose. This word can be used to describe things like policies, strategies, medicines, or procedures. For example: This medicine is effective - (この薬は有効です). The plan was effective in reducing costs - (その計画は経費削減に有効でした).

効率: "Efficiency". The Japanese noun '効率 (こうりつ)' refers to the state of being efficient or the degree of effectiveness in accomplishing a task or goal with the least amount of time, effort, and resources. It is a measure of productivity and is often used in business and organizational contexts to evaluate processes and performance. For example: Working with high efficiency - (高い効率で仕事をする). Improve the efficiency of the production line - (生産ラインの効率を改善する).

効き目: "Effect". The Japanese noun '効き目 (ききめ)' refers to the 'effect' or impact of something, such as a medication, treatment, or action. It describes the outcome or result that is produced. For example: The medicine had a good effect - (その薬の効き目はよかった). The training had a great effect on her performance - (その練習の効き目がとてもよかった彼女の成績に).

効く: "Work" or "Have an effect". The Japanese verb '効く (きく)' means 'to work' or 'to have an effect'. It is used to describe when something is effective, produces a desired result, or has an impact. For example: This medicine works - (この薬が効く). The discount really makes a difference - (値引きがよく効く).

効力: "Effect" or "Efficacy". The Japanese noun '効力 (こうりょく)' refers to the effect, impact, or efficacy of something. It can be used to describe the power or influence of a law, medicine, action, or process. For example: The medicine had a strong effect - (その薬は効力が強い). The law had little effect - (その法律はあまり効力がない).

無効: "Invalid". The adjectival noun '無効 (むこう)' means 'invalid'. This is used to describe something that is not valid, effective or legally binding. It is often used in contexts related to laws, contracts, votes, or official documents. For example: The contract is invalid - (この契約は無効だ). The vote is invalid - (その投票は無効である).

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 "き" is read as "ki". The hiragana "こ" is read as "ko". And The hiragana "う" is read as "u".

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.