【南】(nan, na, minami/south) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 南.

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are

・nan　なん
・na　な

For example,

・南北　nan-boku　なんぼく
south and north

・東西南北　tō-zai-nan-boku　とうざいなんぼく
cardinal directions

・南西　nan-sei　なんせい
south-west

・南東　nan-tō　なんとう
south-east

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is

・minami　みなみ

For example,

・南　minami　みなみ
south

・南の島　minami no shima　みなみのしま
southern island

・真南　ma-minami　まみなみ
due south

and so on.

③ Special reading

Next is a special reading.

・南瓜　kabocha　かぼちゃ
pumpkin
But usually written in HIragana or katakana.

・南風　hae　はえ
Wind blowing from the south
But we don't usually use this term.

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for "西".
This kanji is used in the next meanings

・south

Radical

And the radical of this character is 十　jū
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names. Here are some family names that are particularly common in Japan.

・南　Minami　みなみ
・南沢　Minamisawa　みなみさわ
・南雲　Nagumo　なぐも
・南原　Nanbara　なんばら

Personal name

These are the most common personal names using the Kanji for 南

・南　Minami　みなみ

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 南

・南野 陽子　Minamino Youko　みなみのようこ
She is an actress

・南 果歩　Minami Kaho　みなみかほ
She is an actress, wife of Ken Watanabe

・南方 熊楠　Minakata Kumakusu　みなかたくまくす
He was a natural history scholar

・南原 清隆　Nanbara Kiyotaka　なんばらきよたか
He is a comedian

・大森 南朋　Ōmori Nao　おおもりなお
He is an acter

・阿南 惟幾　Anami Korechika　あなみこれちか
He was a Former Japanese military personnel

Characters in anime/manga

Next, I will introduce some manga and anime characters that use the kanji 南.

・南方 仁　Minakata Jin　みなかたじん
He is a character in a drama JIN

・小南　konan　こなん
She is a character in a anime and Manga NARUTO

・朝倉 南　Asakura Minami　あさくらみなみ
She is a chracter in a anime Touch

Places

Next, we will introduce place names and tourist attractions that use the Chinese character for 南.

・南京　nankin　なんきん
It is the city in China

・越南　betonamu　べとなむ
Vietnam
But usually written in Katakana.

Look-alikes

There is no particular kanji that resembles the kanji character for 南.

kanji with 南

Here are some kanji that contain character 南 in their composition

・献　ken, kon　けん、こん
present

・楠　nan, kusu, kusunoki　なん、くす、くすのき
camphor tree (Name of the tree)

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

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