話 — how to write the kanji for “tale”
話 (“tale” and “talk”) is a JLPT N5 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 134th most used kanji. Its parts sit side by side: 言 (“say”, its radical), strokes 1–7; 舌 (“tongue”), strokes 8–13, each finished before the next. Its 13 strokes make it one of the longest to write at N5. On its own it is the word hanashi, “talk; speech”. Read wa, it forms 電話 (“telephone call”), 対話 (“dialogue”) and 話題 (“topic”); the native reading hana-su gives 話し合い (“discussion”). Mainland Chinese writes it 话 (huà, “conversation”), an HSK 1 character.
- Strokes
- 13
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 言 (“say”)
- On
- ワ
- Kun
- はな·す, はなし
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑bottom leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕bottom leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top rightdown and left
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕centerrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottomrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (13 strokes in Japanese, 13 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ワ wa
- Kun (native)
- はな·す hana-su, はなし hanashi
- Meanings
- tale; talk
- Read wa
- 電話 対話 話題 会話 世話 談話
- Read hana-su
- 話し合い
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 134th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 화 hwa
- Common words
- 39 in JMdict
Words with 話
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 電話 | でんわ denwa | telephone call; phone call |
| 対話 | たいわ taiwa | dialogue; conversation |
| 話題 | わだい wadai | topic; subject |
| 話し合い | はなしあい hanashiai | discussion; talk |
| 会話 | かいわ kaiwa | conversation; talk |
| 世話 | せわ sewa | care; looking after |
| 談話 | だんわ danwa | talk; conversation |
| 通話 | つうわ tsuuwa | telephone call; speaking over the telephone |
| 神話 | しんわ shinwa | myth; mythology |
| 世話人 | せわにん sewanin | sponsor; manager |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N5, in list order: