車
| Property |
Value |
| Meaning |
car, vehicle |
| Strokes |
7 |
| JLPT Level |
N5 |
| On-reading (音読み) |
シャ |
| Kun-reading (訓読み) |
くるま |
| Radical |
車 (くるま) — U+8ECA |
Stroke Order
The kanji 車 follows the standard Japanese rule of top-to-bottom and left-to-right.
- Stroke 1: Horizontal line at the top.
- Stroke 2: Vertical line down, turning right at the bottom (the "box" shape).
- Stroke 3: Horizontal line closing the top box.
- Stroke 4: Horizontal line in the middle.
- Stroke 5: Vertical line through the center (the axle).
- Stroke 6: Horizontal line near the bottom.
- Stroke 7: Horizontal line at the very bottom.
Radical Analysis
The kanji 車 is a pictograph representing an ancient cart or chariot. The radical is 車 itself. Visually, you can see the two wheels (the top and bottom horizontal sections) connected by an axle (the vertical line in the middle).
Mnemonic
Imagine looking down at an old-fashioned wooden cart from above. The top and bottom horizontal lines are the two wheels, and the vertical line in the middle is the axle connecting them. It looks exactly like a bird's-eye view of a vehicle!
On-readings (音読み) with Examples
シャ (sha)
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 自動車 |
じどうしゃ |
jidōsha |
automobile |
| 電車 |
でんしゃ |
densha |
electric train |
| 自転車 |
じてんしゃ |
jitensha |
bicycle |
| 駐車 |
ちゅうしゃ |
chūsha |
parking |
Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples
くるま (kuruma)
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 車 |
くるま |
kuruma |
car / vehicle |
| 車椅子 |
くるまいす |
kurumaisu |
wheelchair |
JLPT N5 Words Using 車
| Word |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
JLPT |
| 電車 |
でんしゃ |
densha |
electric train |
N5 |
| 自転車 |
じてんしゃ |
jitensha |
bicycle |
N5 |
| 自動車 |
じどうしゃ |
jidōsha |
automobile |
N5 |
| 駐車 |
ちゅうしゃ |
chūsha |
parking |
N5 |
| 駐車場 |
ちゅうしゃじょう |
chūshajō |
parking lot |
N5 |
| 助手席 |
じょしゅせき |
joshuseki |
passenger seat |
N4 |
| 運転手 |
うんてんしゅ |
untenshu |
driver |
N4 |
| 車両 |
しゃりょう |
sharyō |
vehicle/railcar |
N3 |
Example Sentences
| Japanese |
Reading |
Romaji |
English |
| 車で学校へ行きます。 |
くるまでがっこうへいきます。 |
Kuruma de gakkō e ikimasu. |
I go to school by car. |
| 電車はとても便利です。 |
でんしゃはとてもべんりです。 |
Densha wa totemo benri desu. |
Trains are very convenient. |
| 駐車場はどこですか。 |
ちゅうしゃじょうはどこですか。 |
Chūshajō wa doko desu ka? |
Where is the parking lot? |
| 私は自転車を持っています。 |
わたしはじてんしゃをもっています。 |
Watashi wa jitensha o motte imasu. |
I have a bicycle. |
| 自動車の運転は難しいです。 |
じどうしゃのうんてんはむずかしいです。 |
Jidōsha no unten wa muzukashii desu. |
Driving a car is difficult. |
| 彼は車を洗っています。 |
かれはくるまをあらっています。 |
Kare wa kuruma o aratte imasu. |
He is washing the car. |
Common Confusion Pairs
| Kanji |
Reading |
Meaning |
How to distinguish |
| 車 |
くるま |
car |
Has a vertical line through the center (the axle). |
| 軍 |
グン |
army |
The top part is different (冖); it represents a covered military camp. |
| 東 |
ヒガシ |
east |
Looks similar, but the center is a "tree" (木) radical, not an axle. |
Usage Frequency Note
車 is one of the most common kanji in the Japanese language. It appears daily in news, signage, and casual conversation. Because it is a fundamental pictograph, it is one of the first kanji taught to students. It is used both as a standalone noun (kuruma) and as a suffix in many compound words related to transportation (-sha).