N4 kanji · 9 strokes
県 means prefecture
県
目 eye · 小 small
県Memory trick
An eye (目) watching over a small (小) region: a prefecture.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- prefecture
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 9
- School grade
- Grade 3 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) かける kakeru
かける (kakeru) 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) ケン ken
ケン (ken) 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
県庁 けんちょう · kenchou
prefectural office
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
Quick check
What does 県 mean?
Right: 県 means prefecture.Not quite: 県 means prefecture.In 県庁, which reading does 県 use?
Right. 県庁 is read けんちょう (kenchou): 県 takes ケン, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 県庁 is read けんちょう (kenchou): 県 takes ケン, its reading from Chinese.