What is the Kanji for "Protect" and "Defense"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Protect" and "Defense" is "衛".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Ei".

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 "行" means "Go" and can be read as "Kou", "I", "Gyou", and "Okona". And The component "韋" .

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

What does the kanji "衛" mean in japanese?

"衛" means "Protect" and "Defense".

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:

自衛: "Self-defense". The noun '自衛 (じえい)' means 'self-defense'. This noun refers to the act of protecting oneself from harm or attack. It can be used to describe actions taken to safeguard one's own interests, security, or well-being. For example: The soldier used self-defense to protect himself - (その兵士は自身を守るために自衛した). Self-defense is important in dangerous situations - (危険な状況では自衛が重要である).

衛生的: "Hygienic". The Japanese adjective '衛生的 (えいせいてき)' means 'hygienic'. This adjective describes something that is clean, sanitary, and promotes good health and hygiene. It is often used to describe the cleanliness of a place, product, or practice. For example: The kitchen is hygienic - (台所は衛生的だ). It's important to maintain hygienic conditions - (衛生的な状況を維持することが大切だ).

自衛隊: "Self-defense forces". The Japanese noun '自衛隊 (じえいたい)' refers to Japan's military forces, which are tasked with defending the country and its interests. The '自衛隊' is a constitutionally-limited military force that is not allowed to engage in offensive operations. It consists of the Ground Self-Defense Force, the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Air Self-Defense Force. For example: The self-defense forces were mobilized to provide aid after the disaster - (自衛隊が災害後の救援活動に動員された).

衛生: "Hygiene". The noun '衛生 (えいせい)' means 'hygiene'. It refers to the practices or conditions necessary to maintain health and prevent disease, such as cleanliness, sanitation, and the prevention of infection. This word is commonly used in the context of personal, public, or community health. For example: Maintaining good hygiene is important for health - (衛生を保つことは健康のために重要だ). Proper hygiene practices help avoid getting sick - (適切な衛生習慣は病気を避けるのに役立つ).

衛星: "Satellite". The Japanese noun '衛星 (えいせい)' means 'satellite'. A satellite is an artificial object that is launched into orbit around a planet or other celestial body to collect information or provide a specific service. Satellites are used for various purposes such as communication, navigation, weather monitoring, and scientific research. For example: The new satellite was successfully launched into orbit - (新しい衛星が軌道に無事打ち上げられた). The Earth has many artificial satellites orbiting it - (地球には多くの人工衛星が回っている).

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).

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 "え" is read as "e". 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.