堂
堂 — Public chamber
public chamber, hall
On’yomiドウ (dou)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (11 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 堂
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食堂 | しょくどう shokudou | dining room; dining hall; cafeteria |
| 講堂 | こうどう koudou | auditorium; lecture hall |
| 堂々 | どうどう doudou | magnificent; grand; impressive |
| 一堂 | いちどう ichidou | one building (hall, temple, shrine, room); same room; same place |
| 公会堂 | こうかいどう koukaidou | town hall; public hall |
| 会堂 | かいどう kaidou | church; chapel; synagogue |
Study notes
堂 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1010 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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