【北】(hoku,kita/North) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are

・hoku　ほく

For example,

・南北　nan-boku　なんぼく
south and north
チリは南北に長い国です
Chile is a long country from north to south

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

・北西　hoku-sei　ほくせい
north-west

・北東　hoku-tō　ほくとう
north-east

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is

・kita　きた

For example,

・北　kita　きた
north

・北国　kitaguni　きたぐに
northern countries

・真北　ma-kita　まきた
due north
日光は東京の真北にあります
Nikko is due north of Tokyo
※※日光は、世界遺産である社寺がある都市です
Nikko is a city with temples and shrines that are World Heritage Sites

and so on.

③ Special reading

No special reading

Meanings

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

・North
・lose

Radical

And the radical of this character is 匕　saji
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.

・北村　Kitamura　きたむら
・北川　Kitagawa　きたがわ
・北野　Kitano　きたの
・北原　Kitahara　きたはら
・北島　Kitajima　きたじま
・北沢　Kitazawa　きたざわ
・北条　Hōjō　ほうじょう

Personal name

There are no specific well-known personal names using the Kanji for 北

Famous person

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

・北野 武　Kitano Takeshi　きたのたけし
He is a comedian, film director

・北島 三郎　Kitajima Saburō　きたじまさぶろう
He is a singer

・北島康介　Kitajima Kousuke　きたじまこうすけ
He is a swimmer, Olympic gold medalist

・北条司　Hōjō Tsukasa　ほうじょうつかさ
He is a author of the manga City Hunter

・北条政子　Hōjō Masako　ほうじょうまさこ
She was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, a conquering general

・北里柴三郎　Kitazato Shibasaburō　きたざとしばさぶろう
He discovered the plague bacillus.

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, I will introduce place names and tourist attractions that use the Chinese character for 北.

・北京　pekin　ぺきん
Beijing, It is the capital of China
北京は中国の首都です
Beijing is the capital of China.

・北海道　hokkaidō　ほっかいどう
Hokkaido (northernmost of the four main islands of Japan)
北海道は都道府県の中で一番広い
Hokkaido is the largest of the prefectures.

・北極　hokkyoku　ほっきょく
the Arctic, North Pole
北極にはホッキョクグマがいます
There are polar bears in the Arctic.

Look-alikes

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

kanji with 北

Here are some kanji that contain character 南 in their composition

・背　hai, se　はい、せ
back of body, disobey

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

Tags

Tap or click to see a list of related Kanji pages.