県
県 — Prefecture
prefecture
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiかける (kakeru)
Stroke order (9 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 県
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 県警 | けんけい kenkei | prefectural police |
| 同県 | どうけん douken | the same prefecture; the said prefecture |
| 県知事 | けんちじ kenchiji | prefectural governor |
| 県内 | けんない kennai | within the prefecture |
| 都道府県 | とどうふけん todoufuken | prefectures (of Japan); largest administrative divisions of Japan: Tokyo-to, Osaka-fu, Kyoto-fu, Hokkaido and the remaining prefectures |
| 県議 | けんぎ kengi | prefectural assembly member |
Study notes
県 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #140 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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