何
何 — What
what
On’yomiカ (ka)
Kun’yomiなに (nani)
Kun’yomiなん (nan)
Kun’yomiなに- (nani)
Kun’yomiなん- (nan)
Stroke order (7 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 何
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何 | なに nani | what; you-know-what; that thing |
| 何か | なにか nanika | something; some; any |
| 何も | なにも nanimo | (not) anything; (nothing) at all; (not) any |
| 何度 | なんど nando | how many times; how many degrees (temperature, angle, etc.) |
| 何とか | なんとか nantoka | something; something or other; so-and-so |
| 何より | なにより naniyori | above anything else; above all; more than anything |
Study notes
何 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #340 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.