What is the Kanji for "Harm"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Harm" is "害".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Gai".

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 3 parts:

The radical "宀" means "Roof" . The kanji "口" means "Mouth" and can be read as "Ku", "Kuchi", and "Kou". And The component "丰" .

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

What does the kanji "害" mean in japanese?

"害" means "Harm".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

障害: "Disability" or "Obstacle". The Japanese noun '障害 (しょうがい)' can have two meanings: 'disability' or 'obstacle'. When referring to 'disability', it describes a physical, mental, or psychological condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. For example: She has a physical disability - (彼女は身体障害がある). When referring to 'obstacle', it describes something that blocks progress or prevents success. For example: The bad weather posed an obstacle to our plans - (悪天候が私たちの計画の障害となった).

被害: "Damage". The Japanese noun '被害 (ひがい)' means 'damage'. This word refers to harm, injury, or loss that is caused by a harmful event or incident. It can be used to describe physical, emotional, or financial damage. For example: The earthquake caused a lot of damage - (地震で多くの被害が出た). The victim suffered serious damage - (被害者は深刻な被害を受けた).

損害: "Damage". The Japanese noun '損害 (そんがい)' means 'damage'. It refers to physical, financial or other forms of harm, loss or detriment. It can be used to describe damage to property, reputation, finances, or other assets. For example: The fire caused significant damage to the building - (火事で建物に大きな損害が出た). The company will have to pay for the damage they caused - (その会社は彼らが引き起こした損害を支払わなければならない).

水害: "Flood". The Japanese noun '水害 (すいがい)' refers to flood damage or flooding. This term is used to describe the harmful effects and destruction caused by an excess of water, such as from heavy rainfall, overflowing rivers, or natural disasters. 水害 emphasizes the negative impact and devastation resulting from flooding. For example: The town was severely damaged by the flood - (その町は水害で大きな被害を受けた). Flood disaster - (水害)

害: "Harm". The Japanese verbal noun '害 (がい)' means 'harm'. This word is used to refer to damage, injury, or negative consequences caused by something. It can be used to describe physical, mental, or abstract forms of harm. For example: The storm caused great harm to the village - (嵐が村に大きな害を及ぼした). Avoiding harm is important - (害を避けることが大切だ).

災害: "Disaster". The Japanese noun '災害 (さいがい)' means 'disaster'. This word refers to a sudden, unexpected, and often devastating event that causes significant damage, destruction, and disruption to people's lives, property, and the environment. It can include natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, or human-caused disasters like fires, accidents, or wars. For example: The earthquake was a terrible disaster - (地震は恐ろしい災害だった). They are still recovering from the disaster - (彼らはまだその災害から回復していない).

侵害: "Infringement". The noun '侵害 (しんがい)' means 'infringement'. It refers to an act of encroaching upon or violating the rights or property of another. This could include infringing on someone's intellectual property, personal rights, or breaking the terms of a contract. For example: The company was accused of copyright infringement - (その企業は著作権侵害で告訴された). The new law aimed to prevent data infringement - (新しい法律は個人情報侵害の防止を目的としていた).

利害: "Interest" or "Advantage". The Japanese noun '利害 (りがい)' has two main meanings. The first meaning is 'interest', referring to a personal stake or involvement in a situation. For example: Protecting one's interests - (利害を守る). The second meaning is 'advantage', referring to a beneficial or favorable position or condition. For example: Pursuing one's own advantage - (自分の利害を追求する).

殺害: "Killing". The noun '殺害 (さつがい)' means 'killing'. It refers to the act of unlawfully causing the death of a person. This can be used to describe manslaughter, murder, or any other deliberate homicide. For example: The suspect was charged with the killing of his neighbor - (容疑者は隣人の殺害で起訴された). The killing of innocent civilians is a war crime - (無辜の市民の殺害は戦争犯罪である)

有害: "Harmful". The adjectival noun '有害 (ゆうがい)' means 'harmful'. This term is used to describe something that can cause damage, injury, or negative effects. It can be applied to substances, activities, or influences that pose a risk to health, safety, or the environment. For example: Smoking is harmful to your health - (喫煙は健康に有害です). Exposure to certain chemicals can be harmful - (特定の化学物質への曝露は有害かもしれません).

無害: "Harmless". The adjectival noun '無害 (むがい)' means 'harmless'. This term describes something that is not able to cause damage or injury. It conveys the idea of safety and lack of threat. For example: The medicine is harmless - (その薬は無害だ). Harmless activities - (無害な活動)

妨害: "Obstruction". The verbal noun '妨害 (ぼうがい)' means 'obstruction'. It refers to the act of interfering with or hindering something, preventing it from being carried out smoothly. It can be used to describe physical obstacles that block the way, as well as non-physical impediments or interference. For example: The snow was an obstruction to our travel plans - (雪が私たちの旅行計画を妨害した). The protesters engaged in obstructing the government's new policy - (デモ参加者は政府の新政策を妨害した).

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 "が" is read as "ga". And The hiragana "い" is read as "i".

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.