号
号 — Nickname
nickname, number, item, title, pseudonym, name
On’yomiゴウ (gou)
Kun’yomiさけぶ (sakebu)
Kun’yomiよびな (yobina)
Stroke order (5 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 号
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 番号 | ばんごう bangou | number; series of digits |
| 信号 | しんごう shingou | signal; signalling; signaling |
| 号 | ごう gou | number; edition; make |
| 記号 | きごう kigou | sign; symbol; mark |
| 背番号 | せばんごう sebangou | number on the back of a player's uniform; uniform number; shirt number |
| 暗号 | あんごう angou | code; password; cipher |
Study notes
号 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #585 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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