火
火 — Fire
fire
On’yomiカ (ka)
Kun’yomiひ (hi)
Kun’yomi-び (bi)
Kun’yomiほ- (ho)
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 火
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 火 | ひ hi | fire; flame; blaze |
| 火山 | かざん kazan | volcano |
| 火災 | かさい kasai | conflagration; fire |
| 噴火 | ふんか funka | eruption; volcanic eruption |
| 火砕流 | かさいりゅう kasairyuu | pyroclastic flow |
| 放火 | ほうか houka | arson; setting fire |
Study notes
火 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 #574 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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