What is the Kanji for "Prevent" and "Defend"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Prevent" and "Defend" is "防".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Fuse".

Its onyomi reading is "Bou".

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 "⻖" . And The kanji "方" means "Direction" and can be read as "Hou" and "Kata".

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

What does the kanji "防" mean in japanese?

"防" means "Prevent" and "Defend".

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:

消防車: "Fire truck". The Japanese noun '消防車 (しょうぼうしゃ)' refers to a vehicle used by fire departments to respond to emergencies and transport firefighters and equipment to the scene of a fire. These vehicles are typically large, red, and equipped with sirens and flashing lights to alert other drivers. They play a crucial role in fire prevention and emergency response. For example: The fire truck rushed to the scene - (消防車が現場に急いで向かった).

消防署: "Fire station". The Japanese noun '消防署 (しょうぼうしょ)' refers to a fire station - a building or facility that houses firefighters and equipment used to respond to and extinguish fires. Fire stations are important public safety infrastructure in Japan, staffed by trained firefighters ready to quickly respond to emergencies. For example: The fire station is located down the street - (消防署は通りを下がったところにあります).

防ぐ: "Prevent". The verb '防ぐ (ふせぐ)' means 'to prevent'. It is used to describe the action of stopping something from happening or occurring. This verb can be used in various contexts, such as preventing an accident, preventing a disaster, or preventing a crime. For example: I will prevent the accident - (事故を防ぐ). He prevented the fire from spreading - (彼は火災の広がりを防いだ).

消防: "Fire service". The Japanese noun '消防 (しょうぼう)' refers to the fire department or fire brigade. It encompasses the organization, personnel, and equipment responsible for preventing, responding to, and extinguishing fires. The '消防' plays a vital role in public safety and emergency response within a community. For example: The fire service arrived quickly to put out the fire - (消防が迅速に火災を消し止めた).

防衛: "Defense". The verbal noun '防衛 (ぼうえい)' means 'defense'. It refers to the act of protecting or shielding something from harm, attack, or destruction. This can apply to the defense of a country, a person, or an idea. For example: National defense - (国の防衛). The team played a strong defense - (チームは強い防衛をした).

防止: "Prevention". The Japanese verbal noun '防止 (ぼうし)' means 'prevention'. It refers to the act or process of stopping something from happening, such as an undesirable event or outcome. It is commonly used in contexts related to safety, security, and risk management. For example: Accident prevention - (事故の防止). The company implemented measures to prevent data breaches - (同社はデータ漏洩を防止するための施策を実施した).

予防: "Prevention". The Japanese verbal noun '予防 (よぼう)' means 'prevention'. It refers to the act of preparing for or protecting against something unwanted or harmful before it happens. This noun is commonly used in the context of health, safety, and security. For example: Disease prevention - (病気の予防). We must take measures to prevent accidents - (事故を予防するための対策をとらなければなりません).

防火: "Fire prevention". The Japanese noun '防火 (ぼうか)' means 'fire prevention'. This term refers to the actions and measures taken to prevent or reduce the risk of fire. It includes activities such as fire safety inspections, installation of fire alarms, and implementation of fire-resistant building materials. '防火 (ぼうか)' is an important concept in Japan, where fire safety is a top priority. For example: Fire prevention measures are important - (防火対策は重要だ). The company has a strong fire prevention plan - (その企業は強力な防火計画を持っている).

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 "ぼ" is read as "bo". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "ふ" is read as "fu". And The hiragana "せ" is read as "se".

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.