話
話 — Tale
tale, talk
On’yomiワ (wa)
Kun’yomiはなす (hanasu)
Kun’yomiはなし (hanashi)
Stroke order (13 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 話
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 電話 | でんわ denwa | telephone call; phone call; telephone (device) |
| 話 | はなし hanashi | talk; speech; chat |
| 対話 | たいわ taiwa | dialogue; conversation; talk |
| 話題 | わだい wadai | topic; subject; much talked about |
| 話し合い | はなしあい hanashiai | discussion; talk; tête-à-tête |
| 会話 | かいわ kaiwa | conversation; talk; chat |
Study notes
話 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #134 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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