校 — Kanji Reference

校 (school): 10 strokes, JLPT N5. On: コウ. Kun: none.

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校

Property Value
Meaning school
Strokes 10
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) コウ
Kun-reading (訓読み) none
Radical 木 (Tree radical, U+6728)

Stroke Order

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

  1. Stroke 1: Horizontal line (left side, 木).
  2. Stroke 2: Vertical line (center, 木).
  3. Stroke 3: Left diagonal (木).
  4. Stroke 4: Right diagonal (木).
  5. Stroke 5: Dot (top of 交).
  6. Stroke 6: Horizontal line (top of 交).
  7. Stroke 7: Left diagonal (part of 交).
  8. Stroke 8: Right diagonal (part of 交).
  9. Stroke 9: Left-to-right horizontal (bottom of 交).
  10. Stroke 10: Right-to-left sweeping stroke (bottom of 交).

Radical Analysis

The kanji 校 is composed of two parts:

  • Radical: 木 (ki - tree/wood): Historically, schools were often built of wood, or perhaps the radical refers to the wooden tablets used for record-keeping in ancient times.
  • Phonetic component: 交 (kou - to cross/exchange): This provides the sound "kou." In ancient times, people would "cross" paths or "exchange" knowledge at a school, linking the phonetic component to the meaning of a place of learning.

Mnemonic

Imagine a tree (木) standing in the center of the schoolyard. Underneath it, students are crossing (交) paths as they walk to their classrooms. Where do they cross paths? At the school (校).

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

コウ (Kō)

Word Reading Romaji English
学校 がっこう gakkō school
高校 こうこう kōkō high school
校長 こうちょう kōchō principal
校舎 こうしゃ kōsha school building

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

Note: This kanji does not have a standard native Japanese (kun-yomi) reading.

JLPT N5 Words Using 校

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
学校 がっこう gakkō school N5
高校 こうこう kōkō high school N5
小学校 しょうがっこう shōgakkō elementary school N5
中学校 ちゅうがっこう chūgakkō junior high school N5
校長 こうちょう kōchō principal N4
校舎 こうしゃ kōsha school building N3
校庭 こうてい kōtei schoolyard N3
校則 こうそく kōsoku school rules N3

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
学校へ行きます。 がっこうへいきます。 Gakkō e ikimasu. I go to school.
私は高校生です。 わたしはこうこうせいです。 Watashi wa kōkōsei desu. I am a high school student.
校長先生は親切です。 こうちょうせんせいはしんせつです。 Kōchō sensei wa shinsetsu desu. The principal is kind.
校庭で遊びます。 こうていであそびます。 Kōtei de asobimasu. I play in the schoolyard.
新しい校舎が建ちました。 あたらしいこうしゃがたちました。 Atarashii kōsha ga tachimashita. A new school building was built.
校則を守りましょう。 こうそくをまもりましょう。 Kōsoku o mamorimashō. Let's follow the school rules.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
交 コウ to cross 交 lacks the 木 (tree) radical on the left. It means "to cross" or "exchange."
効 コウ effect 効 uses the 力 (power/strength) radical on the right. It means "effect" or "efficacy."

Usage Frequency Note

校 is an extremely high-frequency kanji. It is taught in the first grade of elementary school in Japan (Kyōiku Kanji). It appears daily in almost every context involving education, from formal documents to casual conversation. It is essential for any Japanese learner to master early on.