北 — how to write the kanji for “north”

北 (“north”) is a JLPT N5 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 153rd most used kanji. Its Japanese stroke 1, a horizontal, is the 2nd stroke in the Chinese order. On its own it is the word kita, “north; the North”. Read hoku, it forms 北海道 (“Hokkaido…”), 北方 (“the north”) and 南北 (“north and south”); the native reading kita gives 北朝鮮 (“North Korea”) and 北側 (“north side”). Chinese reads it běi, “north”, at HSK 3.

Strokes

5

JLPT

N5

Radical

匕 (“spoon”)

On

ホク

Kun

きた