What is the Kanji for "Sail" and "Navigate"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Sail" and "Navigate" is "航".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Kou".

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 "舟" means "Boat" and can be read as "Shuu", "Fune", and "Funa". And The component "亢" .

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

What does the kanji "航" mean in japanese?

"航" means "Sail" and "Navigate".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fourth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

航空便: "Air mail" or "Airmail". The Japanese noun '航空便 (こうくうびん)' refers to mail or parcels that are transported by air, rather than by ground or sea. This is a faster method of delivery compared to standard postal services. '航空便' is commonly used when sending important documents or time-sensitive materials across long distances. Examples: I sent the important documents by air mail - (重要な書類は航空便で送りました). We use air mail to receive packages quickly from overseas - (海外から荷物を早く受け取るために航空便を使います).

航空: "Aviation". The Japanese noun '航空 (こうくう)' means 'aviation'. This word refers to the activities, equipment, and industry related to powered flight, such as civil and military aircraft and spacecraft. It includes aspects like aircraft design, manufacturing, operations, maintenance, and more. For example: The aviation industry is growing rapidly - (航空産業は急速に成長している). I work in the field of aviation - (私は航空業界で働いている).

航空機: "Aircraft". The Japanese noun '航空機 (こうくうき)' refers to an aircraft or airplane. This word is commonly used to describe any powered vehicle capable of flight, such as airplanes, helicopters, and drones. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts. For example: The aircraft landed safely - (航空機がうまく着陸した). I saw an aircraft in the sky - (空に航空機が見えた).

航空券: "Airline ticket". The Japanese noun '航空券 (こうくうけん)' refers to a ticket for air travel. This term is commonly used when booking or purchasing tickets for flights. For example: I need to buy an airline ticket to Tokyo - (東京に行く航空券を買う必要があります). The airline ticket allows you to board the plane on your scheduled flight. It is an essential item when flying domestically or internationally.

航海: "Voyage". The Japanese noun '航海 (こうかい)' means 'voyage'. This word refers to a long journey by ship or boat across the sea. It can be used to describe exploratory voyages, commercial shipping voyages, or even recreational boat trips. For example: The ship set sail on a long voyage - (船は長い航海に出航した). The sailors returned safely from their voyage - (船員たちは無事に航海から帰ってきた).

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 "こ" is read as "ko". And The hiragana "う" is read as "u".

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.