家 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 家 mean in Japanese?

家 means house, home, or family. It is the anchor of family vocabulary: 家族 (kazoku, family) is one of the first words every learner needs, and it is built on this kanji.

家 has several readings for different senses. いえ (ie) and うち (uchi) mean home as a place; the on’yomi カ powers 家族 (family) and 作家 (sakka, writer). A final use is the suffix 〜家, meaning a specialist or -ist, as in 作家 (writer). The roof shape 宀 on top pictures a building, a fitting frame for a home.

Reading

On’yomi: カ (ka), ケ (ke)

Kun’yomi: いえ (ie), や (ya), うち (uchi)

Basic Information

Kanji 家
Meaning house, home, family
Stroke Count 10
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

いえ (ie) is the physical house or building. うち (uchi) is home in a warmer, more personal sense: it means my place, my household, or my family, and is what you say in 家に帰る (go home). The on’yomi カ builds abstract and compound words: 家族 (kazoku, family), 家庭 (katei, the home as an environment), 家事 (kaji, housework). The suffix 〜家 turns a field into a person who does it: 作家 (writer), 画家 (painter), 音楽家 (musician). A rarer reading ケ appears in surnames and historical house names.

Common Words

  • 家（いえ / ie） — house, home (the building)
  • 家族（かぞく / kazoku） — family
  • 実家（じっか / jikka） — one’s family home, parents’ home
  • 家庭（かてい / katei） — household, home life
  • 作家（さっか / sakka） — writer, author
  • 家事（かじ / kaji） — housework, chores

Example Sentences

  • 私の家族は四人です。

    わたしのかぞくはよにんです。 / Watashi no kazoku wa yonin desu.

    There are four people in my family.

  • 大きい家に住みたいです。

    おおきいいえにすみたいです。 / Ookii ie ni sumitai desu.

    I want to live in a big house.

  • 毎日、母と家事をします。

    まいにち、ははとかじをします。 / Mainichi, haha to kaji o shimasu.

    I do housework with my mother every day.

Related Kanji

  • 族

    — Family/tribe — 家族 (family) = 家 + 族; the two kanji combine into the core family word

  • 親

    — Parent — a 家 (household) centers on the 親 (parents); the two anchor the family unit together

  • 作

    — Make — 作家 (writer) = 作 + 家; the 〜家 suffix turns making into the person who makes, a useful pattern

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

家 has a second everyday kun’yomi, うち (uchi), alongside いえ (ie). Learn the trio いえ / うち / カ by function: いえ is the building, うち is your home and household (家に帰る, go home; うちの family, my family’s), and カ is the reading inside compounds like 家族 and 家庭. Both いえ and うち write the same kanji 家, so the reading depends on the sense.

家族 (kazoku) is the single most useful word here, and 実家 (jikka) is close behind: it is your parents’ home, the house you grew up in, as in お盆に実家に帰る (going back to the family home for Obon). お宅 (otaku) is a polite word for someone else’s home built on this same idea of 家.

The suffix 〜家 is worth recognizing: 作家 (writer), 政治家 (politician), 専門家 (specialist). Seeing 家 at the end of a word about a profession usually means the person who does it, not a building.

Summary

家 means house, home, and family: いえ for the building, うち for your household, and カ in 家族 (family), 家庭 (home life), and 作家 (writer). Watch the suffix 〜家 meaning a specialist.