StrokeFox
12345678910111213141516

館 — how to write the kanji for “building”

館 means “building”, “mansion” and “large building”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. Its parts sit side by side: 飠 (“food”), strokes 1–8; 官 (“bureaucrat”), strokes 9–16, each finished before the next. Its 16 strokes make it one of the longest to write at N4. Its common words take the reading kan: 会館 (“meeting hall”), 大使館 (“embassy”), 美術館 (“art museum”) and 博物館 (“museum”). Mainland Chinese writes it 馆 (guǎn, “embassy or consulate”), an HSK 2 character.

Strokes
16
JLPT
N4
Radical
食 (“eat”)
On
カン
Kun
やかた, たて

Stroke by stroke

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  1. Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
  2. Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
  3. Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
  4. Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
  5. Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
  6. Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
  7. Vertical-rising ㇙leftdownwards → up and right
  8. Dot ㇔bottom leftdown and right
  9. Vertical ㇑top rightdownwards
  10. Dot ㇔topdownwards
  11. Horizontal hook ㇖toprightwards → down and left
  12. Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
  13. Horizontal-turn ㇕centerrightwards → downwards
  14. Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
  15. Horizontal-turn ㇕bottomrightwards → downwards
  16. Horizontal ㇐bottomrightwards

Japanese and Chinese

The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (16 strokes in Japanese, 16 strokes in Chinese).

12345678910111213141516
Japanese · KanjiVG · 16 strokes
12345678910111213141516
Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 16 strokes

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Readings

On (Chinese-derived)
カン kan
Kun (native)
やかた yakata (rare), たて tate (rare)
Meanings
building; mansion; large building; palace
Read kan
会館 大使館 美術館 博物館 図書館 旅館
School year
third grade
Newspaper rank
613th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
Korean hanja
관 gwan
Common words
22 in JMdict

On and kun, explained

Words with 館

WordReadingMeaning
会館かいかん kaikanmeeting hall; assembly hall
大使館たいしかん taishikanembassy
美術館びじゅつかん bijutsukanart museum; art gallery
博物館はくぶつかん hakubutsukanmuseum
図書館としょかん toshokanlibrary
旅館りょかん ryokanryokan; traditional Japanese inn
館長かんちょう kanchousuperintendent; director
映画館えいがかん eigakanmovie theatre; movie theater
迎賓館げいひんかん geihinkanreception hall; guest house
公民館こうみんかん kouminkanpublic hall; community center

Most common first (JMdict).

Practice sheet

Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.

Keep going

Same parts:

JLPT N4, in list order: