What is the Kanji for "Paper"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Paper" is "紙".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Kami".

Its onyomi reading is "Shi".

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 "糸" means "Thread" and can be read as "Ito" and "Shi". And The kanji "氏" means "Family name" and can be read as "Shi" and "Uji".

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

What does the kanji "紙" mean in japanese?

"紙" means "Paper".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Second Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

紙: "Paper". The Japanese noun '紙 (かみ)' means 'paper'. Paper is a thin, flexible material produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags, or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets. Paper has a wide variety of uses, including writing, printing, packaging, and artistic applications. For example: I need to buy some paper - (紙を買う必要がある). This origami is made of paper - (この折り紙は紙でできている).

手紙: "Letter". The Japanese noun '手紙 (てがみ)' means 'letter'. This word refers to a written message, typically on paper, that is sent from one person to another. It can be used to describe both formal letters as well as personal correspondence. For example: I received a letter from my friend - (友達から手紙をもらった). He wrote a letter to his family - (彼は家族に手紙を書いた).

原稿用紙: "Manuscript paper". The Japanese noun '原稿用紙 (げんこうようし)' refers to sheets of paper specifically designed for writing manuscripts or drafts. It typically has pre-printed horizontal lines and a vertical line down the middle to help with formatting and structuring written content. This type of paper is commonly used in Japan for writing reports, essays, stories, or any other type of extended written work. For example: I wrote my essay on manuscript paper - (私はエッセイを原稿用紙に書きました).

白紙: "Blank". The noun '白紙 (はくし)' means 'blank'. This word refers to a sheet of paper that is completely empty, with no text or images on it. It suggests a clean slate, a fresh start, or an open possibility. For example: I started with a blank sheet of paper - (私は白紙から書き始めた). He handed me a blank contract to sign - (彼は私に白紙の契約書を渡した).

包み紙: "Wrapping paper". The Japanese noun '包み紙 (つつみがみ)' refers to the paper or material used to wrap or package items. It is commonly used for gift-wrapping, packaging products, or covering objects. For example: I wrapped the present in colorful wrapping paper - (プレゼントを色とりどりの包み紙で包んだ). The store clerk put my purchase in a paper bag with wrapping paper - (店員が買い物をする紙袋に包み紙を入れてくれた).

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 "し" is read as "shi". The hiragana "か" is read as "ka". And The hiragana "み" is read as "mi".

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.