朝 — how to write the kanji for “morning”
朝 means “morning”, “dynasty” and “regime”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 248th most used kanji. Its parts sit side by side: 𠦝, strokes 1–8; 月 (“moon or flesh”, its radical), strokes 9–12, each finished before the next. Its 12 strokes make it one of the longest to write at N4. On its own it is the word asa, “morning; breakfast”. Read chou, it forms 北朝鮮 (“North Korea”), 朝鮮 (“Korea”) and 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 (“Democratic People's Republic of…”); the native reading asa gives 朝日 (“morning sun”) and 毎朝 (“every morning”). Chinese reads it cháo, “dynasty”, at HSK 5.
- Strokes
- 12
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 月 (“moon or flesh”)
- On
- チョウ
- Kun
- あさ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑leftdownwards
- Vertical then left-falling ㇓topdownwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆toprightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (12 strokes in Japanese, 12 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- チョウ chou
- Kun (native)
- あさ asa
- Meanings
- morning; dynasty; regime; epoch; period; (North) Korea
- Read chou
- 北朝鮮 朝鮮 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 朝鮮半島 早朝 朝刊
- Read asa
- 朝日 毎朝 翌朝
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 248th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 조 jo
- Common words
- 24 in JMdict
Words with 朝
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 北朝鮮 | きたちょうせん kitachousen | North Korea |
| 朝鮮 | ちょうせん chousen | Korea |
| 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 | ちょうせんみんしゅしゅぎじんみんきょうわこく chousenminshushugijinminkyouwakoku | Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea); DPRK |
| 朝鮮半島 | ちょうせんはんとう chousenhantou | Korean peninsula |
| 早朝 | そうちょう souchou | early morning |
| 朝日 | あさひ asahi | morning sun |
| 朝刊 | ちょうかん choukan | morning edition; morning paper |
| 朝食 | ちょうしょく choushoku | breakfast |
| 毎朝 | まいあさ maiasa | every morning |
| 翌朝 | よくあさ yokuasa | next morning |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: