駅 — Kanji Reference
駅 (station): 14 strokes, JLPT N5. On: エキ. Kun: none.
駅
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Meaning | station |
| Strokes | 14 |
| JLPT Level | N5 |
| On-reading (音読み) | エキ |
| Kun-reading (訓読み) | none |
| Radical | 馬 (uma - horse) [U+99AC] |
Stroke Order
The kanji 駅 follows the standard Japanese calligraphy rule: top-to-bottom, left-to-right. It is composed of the radical 馬 (horse) on the left and 尺 (measure/ruler) on the right.
- Left side (馬): Stroke 1 (dot), 2 (horizontal), 3 (vertical), 4 (horizontal), 5 (vertical), 6 (horizontal), 7 (dot), 8 (dot), 9 (dot), 10 (dot).
- Right side (尺): Stroke 11 (horizontal), 12 (vertical), 13 (horizontal), 14 (diagonal sweep).
Radical Analysis
The kanji 駅 is a phono-semantic compound.
- Radical: 馬 (uma - horse). Historically, stations were places where horses were changed or kept for messengers.
- Component: 尺 (shaku - measure/ruler). This acts as the phonetic component (providing the eki sound) and also implies a "fixed distance" or "stop" between points. Together, they represent a place where horses stop at measured intervals.
Mnemonic
Imagine a horse (馬) running a long distance. He gets tired and stops at a ruler (尺) marked on the ground to measure his progress. That stopping point is the station (駅).
On-readings (音読み) with Examples
エキ (Eki)
| Word | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 駅前 | えきまえ | ekimae | in front of the station |
| 駅員 | えきいん | ekiin | station attendant |
| 駅長 | えきちょう | ekichō | station master |
| 終着駅 | しゅうちゃくえき | shūchaku-eki | terminal station |
Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples
There are no standard Kun-readings for this kanji.
JLPT N5 Words Using 駅
| Word | Reading | Romaji | English | JLPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 駅 | えき | eki | station | N5 |
| 駅前 | えきまえ | ekimae | in front of the station | N5 |
| 駅員 | えきいん | ekiin | station attendant | N4 |
| 改札口 | かいさつぐち | kaisatsuguchi | ticket gate | N4 |
| 乗車駅 | じょうしゃえき | jōsha-eki | boarding station | N3 |
| 下車駅 | げしゃえき | gesha-eki | station where one gets off | N3 |
| 最寄り駅 | もよりえき | moyori-eki | nearest station | N3 |
| 駅ビル | えきびる | ekibiru | station building | N3 |
Example Sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 駅はどこですか。 | えきはどこですか。 | Eki wa doko desu ka. | Where is the station? |
| 駅前で待ち合わせましょう。 | えきまえでまちあわせましょう。 | Ekimae de machiawasemashō. | Let's meet in front of the station. |
| 私は駅まで歩きます。 | わたしはえきまであるきます。 | Watashi wa eki made arukimasu. | I walk to the station. |
| 次の駅で降りてください。 | つぎのえきでおりてください。 | Tsugi no eki de orite kudasai. | Please get off at the next station. |
| 駅員さんに切符を見せました。 | えきいんさんにきっぷをみせました。 | Ekiin-san ni kippu o misemashita. | I showed my ticket to the station attendant. |
| この駅はとても混んでいます。 | このえきはとてもこんでいます。 | Kono eki wa totemo konde imasu. | This station is very crowded. |
Common Confusion Pairs
| Kanji | Reading | Meaning | How to distinguish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 駅 | エキ | station | Contains the "horse" (馬) radical. |
| 訳 | ヤク | reason/translation | Contains the "speech" (言) radical. |
- Note: 駅 (station) is about travel and horses, while 訳 (reason) is about language and speech.
Usage Frequency Note
駅 is one of the most common kanji in daily Japanese life. You will see it on every street sign, train map, and bus schedule. It is essential for navigation and daily commuting. It is used exclusively in its On-reading (エキ) in almost all modern contexts.