工
工 — Craft
craft, construction
On’yomiコウ (kou)
On’yomiク (ku)
On’yomiグ (gu)
Kun’yomi—
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 工
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 工場 | こうじょう koujou | factory; plant; mill |
| 工業 | こうぎょう kougyou | (manufacturing) industry |
| 工事 | こうじ kouji | construction work |
| 工作 | こうさく kousaku | handicraft; work; construction |
| 加工 | かこう kakou | manufacturing; processing; treatment |
| 工夫 | くふう kufuu | devising (a way); contriving; inventing |
Study notes
工 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #299 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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