貝
貝 — Shellfish
shellfish
On’yomiバイ (bai)
Kun’yomiかい (kai)
Stroke order (7 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 貝
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貝 | かい kai | shellfish; seashell; shell |
| 貝殻 | かいがら kaigara | seashell; shell |
| 貝塚 | かいづか kaizuka | shell heap; shell mound; kitchen midden |
| 巻き貝 | まきがい makigai | snail; spiral shell |
Study notes
貝 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1787 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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