ChiramiN4 kanji · 8 strokes
明 means bright
日 sun · 月 moon
明Real origin
The sun (日) and the moon (月) together: bright.
Real origin: where the kanji comes from, as far as scholars agree.
Meaning and readings
- Meanings
- bright, light
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 8
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) あかり akari
あかり (akari) 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.
Other Japanese readings: あかるい akarui, あかるむ akarumu, あからむ akaramu
From Chinese (onyomi) メイ mei
メイ (mei) 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: ミョウ myou, ミン min
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
明るい あかるい · akarui
light, bright
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
Quick check
What does 明 mean?
Right: 明 means bright.Not quite: 明 means bright.In 明るい, which reading does 明 use?
Right. 明るい is read あかるい (akarui): 明 takes あか, its Japanese reading, with るい after it.Not quite. 明るい is read あかるい (akarui): 明 takes あか, its Japanese reading, with るい after it.