ChiramiN5 kanji · 9 strokes
南 means south
十 ten · 冂 looks like a tent
南Memory trick
Ten (十) people resting in a tent (冂), out of the heat: south.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- south
- JLPT level
- N5
- Strokes
- 9
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) みなみ minami
みなみ (minami) 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) ナン nan
ナン (nan) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Other readings from Chinese: ナ na
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
南北 なんぼく · nanboku
north and south, north to south
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 N4丷 Used in 140 kanji
See all 17 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 南 mean?
Right: 南 means south.Not quite: 南 means south.In 南北, which reading does 南 use?
Right. 南北 is read なんぼく (nanboku): 南 takes ナン, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 南北 is read なんぼく (nanboku): 南 takes ナン, its reading from Chinese.