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Month

On’yomiげつ・がつ
Kun’yomiつき
MeaningsMonth, Moon
JLPT N5 4 strokes #23 most common Grade 1 Radical moon
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 月

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

4 strokes
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部首 · Radical

The radical of 月

Radical 74 of 214
Moon

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 月 is filed under (moon) — radical number 74 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 月

練習 · Practice

Drill 月 right now

Three quick games built from this character's real data. Your streak is kept in this browser.

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Month げつ・がつ つき
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 月

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

一月 いちがつ January; first month of the lunar calendar
十月 じゅうがつ October; tenth month of the lunar calendar
二月 にがつ February; second month of the lunar calendar
三月 さんがつ March; third month of the lunar calendar
五月 ごがつ May; fifth month of the lunar calendar
四月 しがつ April; fourth month in the lunar calendar
今月 こんげつ this month
九月 くがつ September; ninth month of the lunar calendar
八月 はちがつ August; eighth month of the lunar calendar
六月 ろくがつ June; sixth month of the lunar calendar
名乗り · Name readings

How 月 is read in names

Japanese names use readings that appear nowhere else in the language. These are 月's — the reason personal and place names are so hard to read even for native speakers.

おとがっずきもり
地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 月

Place names are where kanji readings get strange — and where you meet this character in the wild.

画数 · 4 strokes

Other 4-stroke kanji

Useful when looking a character up by stroke count — and a common source of visual mix-ups.

頻度 · Frequency

Next in the frequency list

月 is the 23rd most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

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質問 · Questions

About the kanji 月

What does the kanji 月 mean?

月 means Month, Moon. It is the 23rd most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 月?

月 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) げつ、がつ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) つき.

How many strokes does 月 have?

月 is written with 4 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 月?

It appears at JLPT level N5, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 1.

What is the radical of 月?

The radical of 月 is 月 (moon), radical number 74 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What words use the kanji 月?

Common words written with 月 include 一月 (いちがつ, January; first month of the lunar calendar); 十月 (じゅうがつ, October; tenth month of the lunar calendar); 二月 (にがつ, February; second month of the lunar calendar).

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