ChiramiN5 kanji · 13 strokes
話 means talk, story
話
言 to say · 舌 tongue
話Memory trick
Words (言) and a busy tongue (舌): to talk.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meanings
- talk, tale
- JLPT level
- N5
- Strokes
- 13
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) はなす hanasu
はなす (hanasu) 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: はなし hanashi
From Chinese (onyomi) ワ wa
ワ (wa) 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
話す はなす · hanasu
to talk, to speak
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
Quick check
What does 話 mean?
Right: 話 means talk, story.Not quite: 話 means talk, story.In 話す, which reading does 話 use?
Right. 話す is read はなす (hanasu): 話 takes はな, its Japanese reading, with す after it.Not quite. 話す is read はなす (hanasu): 話 takes はな, its Japanese reading, with す after it.