本 — book, main, origin
ほん
本
book
Grade 1
Japanese school grade level in which this kanji is taught. Grade 1 is first year of elementary school.
5 strokes
U+672C
Unicode hex codepoint — a unique identifier for this character in the Unicode standard.
Freq #10
Frequency rank among the ~2,500 most common kanji in Japanese newspapers. Lower number = more common.
Heisig #211
Index in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" — a popular textbook that teaches kanji through mnemonics and stories.
Meanings
- book
- main
- origin
- real
word
ほん ・ぼん・ぽん hon On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).
本
hon
book
日
本
nihon
Japan
日
本
人
nihonjin
Japanese person
本
人
honnin
the person in question
本
気
honki
serious
本
日
honjitsu
today
本
音
honne
true feelings
本
年
honnen
this year
本
田
honda
Honda (surname)
六
本
木
roppongi
Roppongi (district in Tokyo)
本
土
hondo
mainland
日
本
一
nihonichi
best in Japan
本
文
honbun
body text
本
名
honmyou
real name
本
学
hongaku
this university
手
本
tehon
model
日
本
テ
レ
ビ
nihonterebi
Nippon Television
千
本
senbon
thousand (long things)
根
本
konpon
root
文
庫
本
bunkobon
paperback book
単
行
本
tankoubon
standalone book
抜
本
bappon
fundamental
もと moto Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).
Appears in idioms
Components
Composed of
き
木
tree
#75
Used as component in (2)
Indicative compound (指事). A tree (木) with a horizontal mark at its base indicating the root or origin. Compare 末 (mark at top = tip/end) and 未 (branches not yet fully grown). Extended to mean book, main, and real.