What is the Kanji for "Side" and "Horizontal"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Side" and "Horizontal" is "横".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Yoko".

Its onyomi reading is "Ou".

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 "木" means "Tree" and "Wood" and can be read as "Boku", "Ki", "Moku", and "Ko". And The kanji "黄" means "Yellow" and can be read as "Ki", "Kou", and "Ou".

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

What does the kanji "横" mean in japanese?

"横" means "Side" and "Horizontal".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

横: "Side". The noun '横 (よこ)' means 'side'. It is used to refer to the lateral, lengthwise dimension of an object, as opposed to the length or height. For example: Stand by my side - (私の横に立って). The car is parked on the side of the road - (車は道路の横に駐車している).

横書き: "Horizontal writing". The Japanese noun '横書き (よこがき)' means 'horizontal writing'. This refers to writing or text that is arranged horizontally across a page, as opposed to vertical 'tategaki' writing. Horizontal writing is common in Western languages as well as modern Japanese, and is often used for things like books, newspapers, and documents. Example: She writes in horizontal style - (彼女は横書きで書きます).

横断歩道: "Crosswalk". The Japanese noun '横断歩道(おうだんほどう)' refers to a designated area on a road where pedestrians can safely cross. It is marked by painted lines or signs to indicate the crossing point. Pedestrians are expected to use the crosswalk when available, as it alerts drivers to the presence of people crossing. For example: I always use the crosswalk to get to the other side of the street - (道を渡るときは、いつも横断歩道を使います).

横断: "Crossing". The Japanese verbal noun '横断 (おうだん)' means 'crossing'. It refers to the action of going across or over something, such as a street, a bridge, or a field. This noun is often used in the context of road crossing or pedestrian crossing. For example: I crossed the street - (道路を横断した). Pedestrian crossing - (横断歩道).

横たわる: "Lie". The Japanese verb '横たわる (よこたわる)' means 'to lie down'. It is used to describe the action of resting in a horizontal position, often on a bed, couch or the floor. For example: He is lying down on the bed - (彼は ベッドに横たわっています). I will lie down and take a nap - (私は横たわってお昼寝をします).

横切る: "Cross". The Japanese verb '横切る (よこぎる)' means 'to cross'. It is used to describe the action of moving across or from one side to the other of something. This verb can be used for both physical objects, such as crossing a street, as well as abstract concepts, like crossing a border. For example: I crossed the road - (道を横切った). The plane crossed the ocean - (飛行機が大西洋を横切った).

横顔: "Profile". The noun '横顔 (よこがお)' means 'profile'. It refers to the side view or side perspective of a person's face. This word is often used to describe the distinct outline of someone's facial features when viewed from the side, such as the shape of their nose, jawline, and chin. For example: She has a beautiful profile - (彼女は美しい横顔をしている). I noticed his sharp profile as he turned his head - (彼が頭を回したとき、鋭い横顔が見えた).

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 "お" is read as "o". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "よ" is read as "yo". And The hiragana "こ" is read as "ko".

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.