天
天 — Heavens
heavens, sky, imperial
On’yomiテン (ten)
Kun’yomiあまつ (amatsu)
Kun’yomiあめ (ame)
Kun’yomiあま- (ama)
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 天
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天皇 | てんのう tennou | Emperor of Japan |
| 天 | てん ten | sky; heaven; God |
| 天気 | てんき tenki | weather; fair weather; fine weather |
| 天皇陛下 | てんのうへいか tennouheika | His Majesty the Emperor |
| 天井 | てんじょう tenjou | ceiling; ceiling price; (price) ceiling |
| 天然 | てんねん tennen | nature; spontaneity; natural airhead |
Study notes
天 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 4 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #512 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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