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King

On’yomiおう・-のう
MeaningsKing, Rule, Magnate
JLPT N3 4 strokes #673 most common Grade 1 Radical jade
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 王

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 王

Radical 96 of 214
Jade

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 王 is filed under (jade) — radical number 96 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 玉

練習 · Practice

Drill 王 right now

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

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King おう・-のう
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 王

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.

国王 こくおう king; queen; monarch
女王 じょおう queen; female champion
王国 おうこく kingdom; monarchy
王子 おうじ prince; subordinate Kumano shrine
王座 おうざ throne; first place; top spot
王将 おうしょう (senior player's) king; Ōshō (one of the eight major titles in professional shogi)
王將 おうしょう (senior player's) king; Ōshō (one of the eight major titles in professional shogi)
王者 おうじゃ king; monarch; ruler
王室 おうしつ royal family
王朝 おうちょう dynasty
名乗り · Name readings

How 王 is read in names

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

おおおおきみ
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 王

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 王 — learn them together, not separately.

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 王

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

王 is the 673rd 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 王

What does the kanji 王 mean?

王 means King, Rule, Magnate. It is the 673rd most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 王?

王 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) おう、-のう.

How many strokes does 王 have?

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

What level is the kanji 王?

It appears at JLPT level N3, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 1.

What is the radical of 王?

The radical of 王 is 玉 (jade), radical number 96 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 王?

Common words written with 王 include 国王 (こくおう, king; queen; monarch); 女王 (じょおう, queen; female champion); 王国 (おうこく, kingdom; monarchy).

Which kanji sound the same as 王?

王 shares a reading with 区 (おう), 応 (おう), 欧 (おう), 横 (おう), 央 (おう), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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