南 — Kanji Reference

南 (south): 9 strokes, JLPT N5. On: ナン、ナ. Kun: みなみ.

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南

Property Value
Meaning south
Strokes 9
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) ナン (nan)、ナ (na)
Kun-reading (訓読み) みなみ (minami)
Radical 十 (jū - ten)

Stroke Order

The character 南 follows standard Japanese stroke order rules: top-to-bottom, left-to-right.

  1. Stroke 1: The top horizontal line.
  2. Stroke 2: The vertical line on the left.
  3. Stroke 3: The horizontal line that turns down to form the "box" shape.
  4. Stroke 4: The horizontal line closing the box.
  5. Stroke 5: The vertical line in the center.
  6. Stroke 6: The short horizontal line on the right side of the center.
  7. Stroke 7: The diagonal line descending to the left.
  8. Stroke 8: The diagonal line descending to the right.
  9. Stroke 9: The final vertical line closing the bottom.

Radical Analysis

The main radical is 十 (jū), which appears at the top. However, the character is often categorized under the 冂 (kei/maki-gamae) radical or the 十 radical depending on the dictionary.

  • Top part (十): Represents a cross or a point of direction.
  • Bottom part: Historically, this character was a pictograph representing a bell or a musical instrument. Over time, it was adopted to represent the "south" direction, likely because the sun is at its highest point (the "cross" position) when facing south in the northern hemisphere.

Mnemonic

Imagine a cross (十) sitting on top of a house (the bottom structure). Inside the house, there is a warm, sunny window facing the south. Because the sun hits the south side of the house most directly, you always look 南 (minami) to find the warmth.

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

ナン (nan)

Word Reading Romaji English
南極 なんきょく nankyoku South Pole
南北 なんぼく nanboku north and south
東南 とうなん tōnan southeast

ナ (na)

Word Reading Romaji English
南無 なむ namu Hail (as in "Namu Amida Butsu")
南瓜 かぼちゃ kabocha pumpkin (ateji)

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

みなみ (minami)

Word Reading Romaji English
南側 みなみがわ minamigawa south side
南風 みなみかぜ minamikaze south wind

JLPT N5 Words Using 南

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
南 みなみ minami south N5
南口 みなみぐち minamiguchi south exit N5
東南アジア とうなんアジア tōnan ajia Southeast Asia N4
南極 なんきょく nankyoku South Pole N3

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
駅の南口で会いましょう。 えきのみなみぐちであいましょう。 Eki no minamiguchi de aimashō. Let's meet at the station's south exit.
私の家は南向きです。 わたしのうちはみなみむきです。 Watashi no uchi wa minamimuki desu. My house faces south.
日本の南には島が多いです。 にほんのみなみにはしまがおおい。 Nihon no minami ni wa shima ga ōi. There are many islands to the south of Japan.
南極はとても寒いです。 なんきょくはとてもさむいです。 Nankyoku wa totemo samui desu. The South Pole is very cold.
彼は南の方へ行きました。 かれはみなみのほうへいきました。 Kare wa minami no hō e ikimashita. He went toward the south.
南北に長い国です。 なんぼくにながいくにです。 Nanboku ni nagai kuni desu. It is a country that is long from north to south.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
南 みなみ south Has a "cross" (十) on top and a complex bottom.
献 けん offer/present The left side is different (犬); it is used for "offering" rather than direction.
羊 ひつじ sheep The top looks similar to the top of 南, but the bottom is entirely different.

Usage Frequency Note

南 is a high-frequency kanji used daily in navigation, geography, and urban planning (e.g., train station exits). It is essential for basic communication and is one of the four cardinal directions taught early in the N5 curriculum. It is equally common in both formal writing and casual speech.