院 — how to write the kanji for “Inst.”
院 means “Inst.”, “institution” and “temple”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 150th most used kanji. Japan writes it with 10 strokes, China with 9 strokes. KANJIDIC2 files it under the radical 阜 (“hill”). Its common words take the reading in: 参院 (“House of Councillors…”), 病院 (“hospital”), 衆院 (“House of Representatives…”) and 上院 (“upper house”). Chinese reads it yuàn, “courtyard”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 10
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 阜 (“hill”)
- On
- イン
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Its parts sit side by side: ⻖ (“mound”), strokes 1–3; 完 (“perfect”), strokes 4–10, each finished before the next.
- Horizontal then left-falling ㇇top leftrightwards → downwards → down and left
- Curved hook ㇁leftdown and right → downwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Dot ㇔topdownwards
- Horizontal hook ㇖toprightwards → down and left
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdownwards → down and left
- Vertical-curve-hook ㇟centerdownwards → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japan writes it with 10 strokes and China with 9 strokes, and both counts match the reference lists (KANJIDIC2, Unihan).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- イン in
- Kun (native)
- none
- Meanings
- Inst.; institution; temple; mansion; school
- Read in
- 参院 病院 衆院 上院 下院 両院
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 150th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 원 won
- Common words
- 32 in JMdict
Words with 院
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 参院 | さんいん san'in | House of Councillors (upper house of the National Diet of Japan) |
| 病院 | びょういん byouin | hospital; clinic |
| 衆院 | しゅういん shuuin | House of Representatives… |
| 上院 | じょういん jouin | upper house; upper legislative chamber |
| 下院 | かいん kain | lower house; lower legislative chamber |
| 両院 | りょういん ryouin | both houses of parliament; both upper and lower house |
| 入院 | にゅういん nyuuin | hospitalization; hospitalisation |
| 学院 | がくいん gakuin | institute; academy |
| 大学院 | だいがくいん daigakuin | graduate school |
| 院長 | いんちょう inchou | director; superintendent |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
JLPT N4, in list order: