西
西 — West
west, Spain
On’yomiセイ (sei)
On’yomiサイ (sai)
On’yomiス (su)
Kun’yomiにし (nishi)
Stroke order (6 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 西
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 関西 | かんさい kansai | Kansai (region comprising Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and surrounding prefectures); Kansai (western half of Japan; during the feudal era) |
| 西 | にし nishi | west |
| 西側 | にしがわ nishigawa | west side; west bank |
| 東西 | とうざい touzai | east and west; Orient and Occident; East and West |
| 西欧 | せいおう seiou | Western Europe; the West; the Occident |
| 大西洋 | たいせいよう taiseiyou | Atlantic Ocean |
Study notes
西 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #259 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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