The kanji 和: meaning, readings and stroke order

和

Meaning: peace, Japanese
On reading: ワ wa、オ* o
Kun reading: やわ（らぐ） yawaragu、やわ（らげる） yawarageru、なご（む） nagomu、なご（やか） nagoyaka
Strokes: 8
Radical: 口 mouth, opening
Level: Level 3 · grade 3

Stroke order

Meaning in other languages

Vietnamese: hoà bình, kiểu Nhật (hòa)
Japanese: なかよくすること。にほんの。
Korean: 평화, 일본식 (화)
Chinese: 和平、日式

Readings, words and example sentences

ワ wa · on reading

和わ食しょく
Japanese food
今日のひるごはんは 和わ食しょくです。
Today's lunch is Japanese food.

やわ（らぐ） yawaragu · kun reading

和やわらぐ
to ease, to soften
さむさが少し 和やわらぎました。
The cold has eased a little.

やわ（らげる） yawarageru · kun reading · less common

和やわらげる
to make softer
声を 和やわらげて 話します。
I speak in a softer voice.

なご（む） nagomu · kun reading

和なごむ
to feel warm and calm
その話を聞いて心が 和なごみました。
Hearing that story made me feel warm inside.

なご（やか） nagoyaka · kun reading

和なごやか
friendly, peaceful (mood)
和なごやかな会になりました。
It turned into a friendly gathering.

* marks a less common reading, usually learnt from junior high on.

Practise writing 和 in the app

In Dino Kids your child writes 和 with a finger and every stroke is checked, then takes the Level 3 practice test. Free, no ads, no in-app purchases.

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Readings, radicals: Kanjium, KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); strokes: KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); Korean, simplified forms: Unicode Unihan. Meanings, sentences: Dino Kids (CC0). See Licences.