棒
棒 — Rod
rod, stick, cane, pole, club, line
On’yomiボウ (bou)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (12 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 棒
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 棒 | ぼう bou | pole; rod; stick |
| 泥棒 | どろぼう dorobou | thief; burglar; robber |
| ぶっきら棒 | ぶっきらぼう bukkirabou | curt; blunt; brusque |
| 鉄棒 | てつぼう tetsubou | iron rod; iron bar; iron club |
| 用心棒 | ようじんぼう youjinbou | bodyguard; bouncer; (security) guard |
| 棒高跳び | ぼうたかとび boutakatobi | pole vault |
Study notes
棒 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1455 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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