大
大 — Large
large, big
On’yomiダイ (dai)
On’yomiタイ (tai)
Kun’yomiおお- (oo)
Kun’yomiおおきい (ookii)
Kun’yomi-おおいに (ooini)
Stroke order (3 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 大
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拡大 | かくだい kakudai | expansion; extension; magnification |
| 最大 | さいだい saidai | biggest; greatest; largest |
| 大会 | たいかい taikai | mass meeting; convention; rally |
| 大学 | だいがく daigaku | university; college; former imperial university of Japan (established under the ritsuryō system for the training of government administrators) |
| 大手 | おおて oote | major company; big company; front castle gate |
| 大蔵省 | おおくらしょう ookurashou | Ministry of Finance (1869-2001); Ministry of the Treasury (under the ritsuryō system) |
Study notes
大 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #7 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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