昼 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 昼 mean in Japanese?

昼 means noon or daytime in Japanese. It is the kanji in 昼ご飯 (hirugohan, lunch) and 昼休み (hiruyasumi, lunch break), words that structure every school and work day in Japan.

昼 has two main readings. Read it as ひる (hiru) in everyday words such as 昼ご飯 and 昼寝 (hirune, nap), and as チュウ (chuu) in formal compounds such as 昼食 (chuushoku, lunch). Together with 朝 (morning) and 夜 (night), it completes the basic vocabulary for the parts of the day.

Reading

On’yomi: チュウ (chuu)

Kun’yomi: ひる (hiru)

Basic Information

Kanji 昼
Meaning noon, daytime
Stroke Count 9
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

昼 stretches from ‘noon’ to ‘daytime’ depending on the word. お昼 is the friendly everyday way to refer to lunch or midday, 昼間 emphasizes the daylight hours as opposed to night, and 昼寝 (nap) is literally ‘daytime sleep.’ The formal reading チュウ appears in 昼食, the word used on menus and schedules, while 昼ご飯 is what people say in conversation.

Common Words

  • 昼（ひる / hiru） — noon, daytime
  • 昼ご飯（ひるごはん / hirugohan） — lunch
  • 昼休み（ひるやすみ / hiruyasumi） — lunch break
  • 昼食（ちゅうしょく / chuushoku） — lunch (formal)
  • 昼間（ひるま / hiruma） — daytime
  • 昼寝（ひるね / hirune） — nap

Example Sentences

  • 昼ご飯に何を食べましたか。

    ひるごはんになにをたべましたか。 / Hirugohan ni nani o tabemashita ka.

    What did you eat for lunch?

  • 昼休みは十二時から一時までです。

    ひるやすみはじゅうにじからいちじまでです。 / Hiruyasumi wa juuniji kara ichiji made desu.

    Lunch break is from twelve to one.

  • 日曜日はよく昼寝をします。

    にちようびはよくひるねをします。 / Nichiyoubi wa yoku hirune o shimasu.

    I often take a nap on Sundays.

Related Kanji

  • 朝

    — 朝 means morning, the part of the day before 昼; the set 朝, 昼, 夜 covers the whole day and is best learned together.

  • 夜

    — 夜 means night, the direct contrast to 昼; the pair appears in 昼間 (daytime) versus 夜中 (the middle of the night).

  • 食

    — 食 means to eat, and 昼食 (lunch) combines ‘noon’ with ‘meal’; the same pattern gives 朝食 (breakfast), making the pair easy to learn.

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

お昼にしましょう (let’s break for lunch) is a phrase you will hear in any Japanese office. 昼休み usually means the fixed lunch break at school or work, often noon to one. 昼寝 (hirune) names Japan’s napping culture, and 昼間 (hiruma) is the word to choose when you mean ‘during the day’ rather than ‘lunch time.’

Summary

昼 means noon or daytime and powers lunch words like 昼ご飯 and 昼休み, sitting between 朝 and 夜 in the daily cycle.