What is the Kanji for "Sound"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Sound" is "音".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi readings are "Ne" and "Oto".

Its onyomi reading is "On".

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 "立" means "Stand" and can be read as "Ritsu" and "Ta". And The kanji "日" means "Day" and "Sun" and can be read as "Jitsu", "Nichi", "Hi", and "Ka".

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

What does the kanji "音" mean in japanese?

"音" means "Sound".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

音: "Sound". The Japanese noun '音 (おと)' means 'sound'. This word refers to auditory vibrations that are perceived by the ear. It can be used to describe a wide range of sounds, from music and speech, to natural sounds like the wind or animals. For example: The sound of birds chirping - (鳥のさえずりの音). I heard a loud sound - (大きな音が聞こえた).

音楽: "Music". The Japanese noun '音楽 (おんがく)' means 'music'. This word refers to the art of arranging sound in time to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. It is an important part of Japanese culture and is enjoyed in various forms, such as traditional Japanese music, classical music, pop music, and more. For example: I enjoy listening to classical music - (私はクラシック音楽を楽しむ). Music is an important part of my life - (音楽は私の生活の重要な部分だ).

録音: "Recording". The Japanese verbal noun '録音 (ろくおん)' means 'recording'. It refers to the act of capturing sound, music, speech etc. on a recording device. This word is often used in contexts involving audio/video technology, such as recording a podcast, recording a conversation, or recording a musical performance. For example: I need to do some recording for my podcast - (私はポッドキャストの録音をする必要があります). The studio does high-quality recording - (スタジオでは高品質な録音をしています).

雑音: "Noise". The Japanese noun '雑音 (ざつおん)' means 'noise'. This word refers to unwanted sounds or a disturbance in an audio signal. It can be used to describe a wide range of annoying sounds, such as static on a radio, background chatter, or mechanical hum. For example: There is too much noise in this room - (この部屋には雑音が多すぎます). The video had a lot of noise - (そのビデオには雑音が多かった).

音読み: "Read aloud". The Japanese verbal noun '音読み (おんよみ)' means 'to read aloud'. This refers to the practice of reading text out loud, often as a method of language learning or to improve fluency. It is commonly used in educational contexts where students are asked to read passages aloud to demonstrate their understanding and pronunciation. For example: She read the passage aloud - (彼女は段落を音読みした). The students practiced reading aloud in class - (生徒たちは授業で音読みの練習をした).

五十音: "Fifty sounds". The noun '五十音 (ごじゅうおん)' refers to the fifty basic sounds or phonemes that make up the Japanese writing system. It encompasses the five vowels and the consonant-vowel combinations that are the foundation of the kana, including hiragana and katakana. The '五十音' is an important concept in Japanese language education and is commonly taught to students learning to read and write in Japanese. For example: I am practicing the fifty sounds - (五十音を練習しています).

音声: "Voice". The Japanese noun '音声 (おんせい)' means 'voice'. This word refers to the sound produced by a person or animal when they speak or make a vocal sound. It can be used to describe the particular quality or characteristics of someone's voice, such as its pitch, volume, or tone. For example: Her voice is soft - (彼女の音声は優しい). I could hear the voices of the children - (子供たちの音声が聞こえた).

発音: "Pronunciation". The Japanese verbal noun '発音 (はつおん)' means 'pronunciation'. It refers to the way a word or sound is uttered or articulated. This term is commonly used when discussing language, linguistics, and the proper way to say words. For example: Correct pronunciation is important - (正しい発音が大切です). He practiced the pronunciation of difficult words - (難しい単語の発音を練習しました).

物音: "Noise". The Japanese noun '物音 (ものおと)' means 'noise'. This word refers to any sound or sounds that occur without apparent human causation, such as noises from inanimate objects or natural phenomena. It can be used to describe various types of ambient sounds, like the rustling of leaves, creaking of floorboards, or sounds of nature. For example: I heard a strange noise coming from the attic - (私は屋根裏から変な物音がするのを聞きました).

本音: "Real intention". The Japanese noun '本音 (ほんね)' refers to one's true feelings or intentions, as opposed to the 'tatemae' (public face or facade). It represents the sincere, unfiltered thoughts and desires that a person may not openly express. '本音' suggests a sense of honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity that lies beneath the surface. For example: She revealed her real intentions - (彼女は本音を明かした). I want to know your true feelings - (あなたの本音が知りたい).

足音: "Footsteps". The Japanese noun '足音 (あしおと)' refers to the sound produced by the movement of a person's feet. It is commonly used to describe the audible sound of someone walking or approaching. This word can be used in various contexts, such as describing the faint sound of someone sneaking up on you, or the heavy footsteps of someone marching. For example: I heard the footsteps approaching the door - (ドアに向かう足音が聞こえた). The soft footsteps of the cat - (猫の軽やかな足音).

録音テープ: "Tape". The Japanese noun '録音テープ (ろくおんテープ)' refers to a magnetic tape used for recording sound or audio. It is a physical medium for storing recorded audio information. This type of tape is commonly used in older audio recording and playback devices. For example: I need to buy a new tape for my old cassette player - (私は古いカセットプレーヤーの新しい録音テープを買う必要がある).

騒音: "Noise". The Japanese noun '騒音 (そうおん)' refers to unwanted, unpleasant or distracting sounds, often of high volume, that can cause disturbance or disruption. It is commonly used to describe annoying sounds such as loud machinery, traffic, construction work or loud music. For example: The noisy construction is causing a lot of noise pollution - (そのうるさい工事は大きな騒音をもたらしている). The office was filled with the noise of typing and chatter - (その事務所は打ち鍵や話し声の騒音に満ちていた).

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 "ん" is read as "n". The hiragana "ね" is read as "ne". And The hiragana "と" is read as "to".

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.