ChiramiN5 kanji · 4 strokes
午 means noon
午
午Memory trick
Watch out: 午 (noon) is 牛 (cow) without the horn poking out on top.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- noon
- JLPT level
- N5
- Strokes
- 4
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) うま uma
うま (uma) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
From Chinese (onyomi) ゴ go
ゴ (go) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
午後 ごご · gogo
afternoon, p.m.
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
干 Used in 19 kanji
See all 3 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 午 mean?
Right: 午 means noon.Not quite: 午 means noon.In 午後, which reading does 午 use?
Right. 午後 is read ごご (gogo): 午 takes ゴ, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 午後 is read ごご (gogo): 午 takes ゴ, its reading from Chinese.