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What is the Kanji for "Grave"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Grave" is "墓".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Haka".

Its onyomi reading is "Bo".

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 component "莫" . And The kanji "土" means "Soil" and can be read as "Tsuchi", "To", and "Do".

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

What does the kanji "墓" mean in japanese?

"墓" means "Grave" .

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fifth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N1 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

: "Grave". The Japanese word '墓 (はか)' means 'grave'. It refers to a place, usually marked with a headstone, where a deceased person is buried. Graves can be found in cemeteries, crematoriums or on private property. They serve as a physical location to commemorate and honor the dead. For example: We visited my grandfather's grave - (祖父の墓に参りました). The graves were covered in flowers - (墓には花が供えられていた).
墓地: "Cemetery". The Japanese noun '墓地 (ぼち)' refers to a cemetery or graveyard. This is a place where people are buried after they die. Cemeteries can be found in many places, such as near temples or churches, and are respected as sacred grounds. For example: I visited my ancestors' graves at the local cemetery - (私は、地元の墓地で先祖の墓参りに行きました).
墓参り: "Visit a grave". The Japanese verbal noun '墓参り (はかまいり)' means 'to visit a grave'. This phrase is used to refer to the act of visiting the grave of a deceased person, often to pay respects, make offerings, or clean the gravesite. It is an important cultural practice in Japan. For example: After the funeral, we went to visit the grave - (葬式の後で、私たちは墓参りに行きました).

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 "ぼ" is read as "bo". The hiragana "は" is read as "ha". And The hiragana "か" is read as "ka".