Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 9
北 north
- Meaning
- north
- On reading
- ホク
- Kun reading
- きた
Memory hook
Two people standing back to back, turning away from the cold. ホク in compounds, きた on its own.
Words that use 北
北
きた
north
北海道
ほっかいどう
Hokkaido
How to write 北
Stroke order · 5 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
- 1. The horizontal across the middle.
- 2. The vertical through the centre.
- 3. The upward flick.
- 4. The sweep down to the left.
- 5. Vertical, then turn across to the right, ending in a hook.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
北 is taught on day 15 of the kanji course, alongside 南 山 川, with two writing passes and a short quiz.