ChiramiN4 kanji · 4 strokes
犬 means dog
犬
犬Real origin
It began as a dog. The dot is its ear.
Real origin: where the kanji comes from, as far as scholars agree.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- dog
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 4
- School grade
- Grade 1 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) いぬ inu
いぬ (inu) 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
盲導犬 もうどうけん · moudouken
guide dog, seeing-eye dog
Built from
- 大 large
- 丶 dot
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
大 Used in 100 kanji
See all 8 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 犬 mean?
Right: 犬 means dog.Not quite: 犬 means dog.In 盲導犬, which reading does 犬 use?
Right. 盲導犬 is read もうどうけん (moudouken): 犬 takes ケン, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 盲導犬 is read もうどうけん (moudouken): 犬 takes ケン, its reading from Chinese.