What is the Kanji for "West"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "West" is "西".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Nishi".

Its onyomi readings are "Sei" and "Sai".

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 3 parts:

The kanji "一" means "One" and can be read as "Ichi", "Itsu", and "Hito". The radical "儿" means "Legs" . And The kanji "口" means "Mouth" and can be read as "Ku", "Kuchi", and "Kou".

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

What does the kanji "西" mean in japanese?

"西" means "West".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Second Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N5 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

西: "West". The noun '西 (にし)' means 'west'. This term refers to one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction to the right when facing north. It can be used to describe locations, directions, or even indicate which side of something is considered the western side. For example: I live in the west - (私は西に住んでいます). The sun sets in the west - (太陽は西に沈む).

西暦: "Year". The Japanese word '西暦 (せいれき)' refers to the year in the Common Era calendar, also known as the Gregorian calendar. This calendar is the most widely used civil calendar system in the world today. The term '西暦' literally translates to 'Western calendar' and is used to distinguish it from the traditional Japanese Nengo calendar. For example: 2023年の西暦 - (2023 in the Common Era calendar).

西洋: "West". The noun '西洋 (せいよう)' refers to the Western countries or regions, typically those located in Europe and North America. It is used to contrast with the 'East' or 'Eastern' regions such as Asia. This term is often used in discussions about cultural, political, or economic differences between the Western and Eastern parts of the world. For example: The influence of Western culture is growing in our country - (西洋文化の影響が我が国に増えている).

西洋人: "Westerner". The noun '西洋人 (せいようじん)' refers to a person from a Western country, such as Europe or the United States. It can be used to describe the cultural, social, or political characteristics associated with Western civilization. For example: The westerners have a different culture - (西洋人は異文化を持っている). They are westerners - (彼らは西洋人だ).

東西: "East and west". The noun '東西 (とうざい)' refers to the cardinal directions of east and west. It is used to indicate the entire expanse or breadth from one side to the other in an east-west direction. For example: The exhibition showcased art pieces from east to west - (東西の芸術作品が展示されていた). It can also be used metaphorically to refer to the contrast or differences between two disparate things or ideas. For instance: The cultural traditions of the east and west differ greatly - (東西の文化伝統は大きく異なる).

南西: "Southwest". The noun '南西 (なんせい)' refers to the southwest direction, one of the four cardinal directions. It is often used to describe locations or the orientation of places relative to the southwest. Examples: My house is located in the southwest part of town - (私の家は町の南西の部分にあります). The wind is blowing from the southwest - (風は南西から吹いています).

北西: "Northwest". The Japanese noun '北西 (ほくせい)' means 'northwest'. It refers to the cardinal direction that is between north and west. This word can be used to describe a location or direction, such as: The house is located to the northwest - (家は北西にあります). The wind was blowing from the northwest - (風は北西から吹いていた).

西側: "West". The noun '西側 (にしがわ)' means 'west'. It refers to the direction or location that is situated toward the sun's setting position. This word is commonly used to indicate the western side or region of something, such as a building, city, or country. For example: The west side of the city - (町の西側). The western border - (西側の境界線).

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 "せ" is read as "se". The hiragana "い" is read as "i". The hiragana "さ" is read as "sa". The hiragana "に" is read as "ni". And The hiragana "し" is read as "shi".

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.