What is the Kanji for "Wake up"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Wake up" is "起".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "O".

Its onyomi reading is "Ki".

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 "走" means "Run" and can be read as "Sou" and "Hashi". And The kanji "己" means "Oneself" and can be read as "Ki", "Ko", and "Onore".

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

What does the kanji "起" mean in japanese?

"起" means "Wake up".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

起こる: "Occur". The verb '起こる (おこる)' means 'to occur' or 'to happen'. It is used to describe events, situations, or phenomena that take place or come into existence. The verb can be used in both casual and formal contexts. For example: An accident occurred on the highway - (事故が高速道路で起こった). Natural disasters sometimes occur in this region - (この地域では時々自然災害が起こる).

起きる: "Get up". The Japanese verb '起きる (おきる)' means 'to get up'. It is used to describe the action of rising from a lying or sitting position, especially when waking up from sleep. For example: I woke up early this morning - (今朝は早く起きた). Please wake me up at 7 o'clock - (7時に起こしてください).

起こす: "Cause" or "Wake". The Japanese verb '起こす (おこす)' can mean both 'to cause' or 'to awaken/wake (someone)'. When used to mean 'to cause', it indicates that the subject is making something happen or bringing about a particular situation. For example: The heavy rain caused a flood - (大雨が洪水を起こした). When used to mean 'to wake (someone)', it indicates that the subject is waking or rousing another person from sleep. For example: The alarm clock woke me up - (目覚まし時計が私を起こした).

早起き: "Early rise". The verbal noun '早起き (はやおき)' means 'early rise' or 'getting up early'. This refers to the action of waking up and getting out of bed at an early time, usually before most other people. It is considered a desirable habit and is associated with productivity and discipline. For example: I always try to do an early rise - (私は毎日早起きしようと心がけています). Early rising is good for your health - (早起きは健康にいい)

起き上がる: "Get up". The Japanese verb '起き上がる (おきあがる)' means 'to get up'. This verb is used to describe the action of rising from a lying or seated position. It implies standing up after having been in a lower or reclined posture. For example: I got up from the bed - (ベッドから起き上がった). She got up and left the room - (彼女は起き上がって部屋を出た).

引き起こす: "Cause". The Japanese verb '引き起こす (ひきおこす)' means 'to cause' or 'to bring about'. It is used when describing something that leads to or results in a particular event or situation. For example: The heavy rain caused a flood - (豪雨が洪水を引き起こした). The accident caused a traffic jam - (事故が渋滞を引き起こした).

起動: "Start". The noun '起動 (きどう)' means 'start'. It refers to the act of initiating or launching a computer, device or system. This term is commonly used in the context of technology, such as starting up a computer, activating an application, or powering on an electronic device. For example: The computer started up quickly - (コンピューターは素早く起動した). I need to start my car - (車を起動させる必要がある).

提起: "Raise". The noun '提起 (ていき)' means 'to raise' or 'to bring up'. It refers to the act of introducing a topic, issue or discussion. It can be used in contexts such as raising a concern, bringing up a problem, or proposing an idea. For example: I'd like to raise an issue - (問題を提起したい). Let me raise something with you - (私何か提起させてください).

起源: "Origin". The noun '起源 (きげん)' means 'origin'. It refers to the point or place from which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived. It can be used to describe the origin of a concept, idea, practice, or phenomenon. For example: The origin of this custom is unclear - (この習慣の起源は不明). The origin of the word is Greek - (この単語の起源はギリシャ語である).

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". And The hiragana "き" is read as "ki".

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.