今
今 — Now
now
On’yomiコン (kon)
On’yomiキン (kin)
Kun’yomiいま (ima)
Stroke order (4 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 今
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今回 | こんかい konkai | this time; now |
| 今月 | こんげつ kongetsu | this month |
| 今後 | こんご kongo | from now on; hereafter |
| 今年 | ことし kotoshi | this year |
| 今度 | こんど kondo | this time; now; next time |
| 今日 | きょう kyou | today; this day; these days |
Study notes
今 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 4 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #49 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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