日
| Property |
Value |
| Meaning |
day, sun |
| Strokes |
4 |
| JLPT Level |
N5 |
| On-reading (音読み) |
ニチ (nichi)、ジツ (jitsu) |
| Kun-reading (訓読み) |
ひ (hi)、び (bi)、か (ka) |
| Radical |
日 (hi-hen / nichi) [U+65E5] |
Stroke Order
The kanji 日 follows the standard rule of top-to-bottom, left-to-right.
- Stroke 1: Vertical line on the left.
- Stroke 2: A corner stroke starting from the top right, going down and then left to form the top and right sides.
- Stroke 3: Horizontal line inside the box.
- Stroke 4: Horizontal line closing the bottom of the box.
Radical Analysis
The kanji 日 is a pictograph representing the sun. Originally, it was a circle with a dot in the middle, which evolved into the square shape we see today. It serves as its own radical (the "sun" radical). When it appears on the left side of a character, it is often called hi-hen. It is a fundamental building block for kanji related to time, light, and brightness.
Mnemonic
Imagine the square box is the sun, and the horizontal line in the middle is the horizon. The sun sits right on the horizon at the start of a new day.
On-readings (音読み) with Examples
ニチ (nichi)
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 日本 |
にほん |
nihon |
Japan |
| 日曜日 |
にちようび |
nichiyōbi |
Sunday |
| 日記 |
にっき |
nikki |
diary |
ジツ (jitsu)
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 今日 |
こんじつ |
konjitsu |
today (formal) |
| 日時 |
にちじ |
nichiji |
date and time |
| 祝日 |
しゅくじつ |
shukujitsu |
public holiday |
Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples
ひ (hi)
- 日 (ひ / hi): Sun / Day
- 朝日 (あさひ / asahi): Morning sun
び (bi)
- 誕生日 (たんじょうび / tanjōbi): Birthday
か (ka)
- 三日 (みっか / mikka): Third day of the month
JLPT N5 Words Using 日
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
JLPT |
| 日 |
ひ |
hi |
day |
N5 |
| 今日 |
きょう |
kyō |
today |
N5 |
| 日曜日 |
にちようび |
nichiyōbi |
Sunday |
N5 |
| 日本 |
にほん |
nihon |
Japan |
N5 |
| 毎日 |
まいにち |
mainichi |
every day |
N5 |
| 昨日 |
きのう |
kinō |
yesterday |
N5 |
| 明日 |
あした |
ashita |
tomorrow |
N5 |
| 日記 |
にっき |
nikki |
diary |
N5 |
Example Sentences
| Japanese |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 今日はいい天気です。 |
きょうはいいてんきです。 |
Kyō wa ii tenki desu. |
The weather is nice today. |
| 日本へ行きます。 |
にほんへいきます。 |
Nihon e ikimasu. |
I am going to Japan. |
| 毎日、日本語を勉強します。 |
まいにち、にほんごをべんきょうします。 |
Mainichi, nihongo o benkyō shimasu. |
I study Japanese every day. |
| 日曜日は休みです。 |
にちようびはやすみです。 |
Nichiyōbi wa yasumi desu. |
Sunday is a day off. |
| 朝日がきれいです。 |
あさひがきれいです。 |
Asahi ga kirei desu. |
The morning sun is beautiful. |
| 誕生日は三日です。 |
たんじょうびはみっかです。 |
Tanjōbi wa mikka desu. |
My birthday is the 3rd. |
Common Confusion Pairs
| Kanji |
Reading |
Meaning |
How to distinguish |
| 日 |
にち / ひ |
Sun / Day |
Has one horizontal line in the middle. |
| 目 |
もく / め |
Eye |
Has two horizontal lines inside; represents an eye. |
| 白 |
はく / しろ |
White |
Has a small "dash" on top of the box. |
Usage Frequency Note
日 is one of the most frequently used kanji in the Japanese language. It appears in almost every newspaper, book, and daily conversation. Because it is used to count days and denote dates, it is essential for basic literacy and daily life in Japan.