What is the Kanji for "Summer"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Summer" is "夏".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Natsu".

Its onyomi readings are "Ge" and "Ka".

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 radical "夂" means "Late" . And The radical "𦣻" means "Neck" .

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

What does the kanji "夏" mean in japanese?

"夏" means "Summer".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

夏: "Summer". The Japanese word '夏 (なつ)' means 'summer'. It refers to the warmest season of the year, typically between June and August in the Northern Hemisphere. This noun is used to describe the hot weather, seasonal activities, and characteristics associated with this time of year. For example: I love summer - (私は夏が好きです). Summer vacation - (夏休み).

初夏: "Early summer". The Japanese noun '初夏 (しょか)' refers to the early part of summer, usually the month of June. It describes the transitional period between spring and the height of summer, when temperatures start rising and nature is in full bloom. For example: The early summer is a beautiful time of year - (初夏は素晴らしい季節です). We went on a picnic in the early summer - (私たちは初夏にピクニックに行きました).

春夏秋冬: "Four seasons". The Japanese noun '春夏秋冬 (しゅんかしゅうとう)' refers to the four seasons of the year: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This term is often used to represent the cyclic nature of the seasons and the changing of the natural world throughout the year. For example: The four seasons in Japan are beautiful - (日本の春夏秋冬は美しい). Experiencing the four seasons is one of the joys of living in Japan - (春夏秋冬を感じられるのは日本に住む喜びの一つだ).

真夏: "Midsummer". The Japanese noun '真夏 (まなつ)' refers to the middle of summer, the hottest time of the year. It is used to describe the peak of the summer season, typically in July or August. For example: It's midsummer, so the weather is very hot - (今は真夏なので、とても暑い). Summer festivals are often held during midsummer - (真夏には夏祭りが行われることが多い).

夏休み: "Summer vacation". The Japanese noun '夏休み (なつやすみ)' refers to the summer vacation period, typically in the months of July and August when schools and universities are closed. It is a time for relaxation, travel, and spending time with family and friends. For example: I will go on a trip during the summer vacation - (夏休みに旅行に行きます). Summer vacation is a great time to rest - (夏休みは良い休息の時期です).

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 "げ" is read as "ge". The hiragana "か" is read as "ka". The hiragana "な" is read as "na". And The hiragana "つ" is read as "tsu".

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.