題 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 題 mean in Japanese?

題 means a topic, subject, or title. You already meet it inside two everyday words: 問題 (mondai, problem/question) and 宿題 (shukudai, homework). Learning 題 mostly means recognising the words it forms.

The reading is almost always the on’yomi ダイ, and there is no everyday kun’yomi. Beyond study words, 題 also means the ‘title’ of a work: 題名 (daimei, title) and 話題 (wadai, a topic of conversation).

Reading

On’yomi: ダイ (dai)

Kun’yomi: —

Basic Information

Kanji 題
Meaning topic, subject, title
Stroke Count 18
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

題 links a cluster of very common words. 問題 (mondai) is a problem or question; 宿題 (shukudai) is homework; 課題 (kadai) is a task or assignment, often larger or more open-ended than 宿題 and common in work and university contexts. 話題 (wadai) is a topic of conversation or something that is ‘the talk of the town’ (話題になる, to become a hot topic). 題名 (daimei) is the title of a book, film, or song. There is no everyday kun’yomi, so you will read 題 as ダイ almost every time.

Common Words

  • 問題（もんだい / mondai） — problem, question, issue
  • 宿題（しゅくだい / shukudai） — homework
  • 話題（わだい / wadai） — topic of conversation
  • 課題（かだい / kadai） — assignment, task, challenge
  • 題名（だいめい / daimei） — title (of a work)
  • 出題（しゅつだい / shutsudai） — setting a question (on an exam)

Example Sentences

  • 今日の宿題は漢字の練習です。

    きょうのしゅくだいはかんじのれんしゅうです。 / Kyou no shukudai wa kanji no renshuu desu.

    Today’s homework is kanji practice.

  • その話題について話しましょう。

    そのわだいについてはなしましょう。 / Sono wadai ni tsuite hanashimashou.

    Let’s talk about that topic.

  • 試験にはこの問題がよく出題されます。

    しけんにはこのもんだいがよくしゅつだいされます。 / Shiken ni wa kono mondai ga yoku shutsudai saremasu.

    This kind of problem often comes up on the exam.

Related Kanji

  • 問

    — Question/ask — 問題 (problem/question) = 問 + 題; 問 asks and 題 supplies the topic, and the two are almost always learned as a pair

  • 宿

    — Lodging/homework — 宿題 (homework) = 宿 + 題; the everyday school word that most learners meet 題 in first

  • 話

    — Talk/story — 話題 (topic of conversation) = 話 + 題; 話 supplies the ‘talking’, 題 the ‘subject’ being talked about

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

Group 題 with its partners rather than learning it alone: 問 + 題 = 問題 (problem), 宿 + 題 = 宿題 (homework), 話 + 題 = 話題 (topic). Seeing 題 as ‘the subject/topic at hand’ ties all of these together.

Distinguish 宿題 (shukudai) and 課題 (kadai): 宿題 is schoolwork you take home, typical of school life; 課題 is a broader ‘assignment’ or ‘challenge/task’, common at university and work (課題を提出する, to submit an assignment). Both share 題 as the ‘set task’.

題 is a fairly high-stroke kanji (18 strokes). Its lower-left element is 是 and the right side is 頁 (the ‘head/page’ radical seen in 頭 and 顔). You do not need the etymology to use it, but recognising 頁 can help you remember the shape.

Summary

題 means a topic, subject, or title, read ダイ, and appears in high-frequency words like 問題 (problem), 宿題 (homework), and 話題 (topic). It has no everyday kun’yomi.