日 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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日

日 means “sun” and “day” in Japanese. Its shape comes from an ancient drawing of the sun, and it is one of the most frequent kanji in everyday Japanese.

Reading

On’yomi: ニチ (nichi), ジツ (jitsu)

Kun’yomi: ひ (hi), -か (-ka)

Basic Information

Kanji 日
Meaning sun, day
Stroke Count 4
JLPT Level N5

How to Understand This Kanji

日 can refer to the sun, a day, a date, Japan, or daily time depending on the word. It appears in essential words such as 日本 (Japan), 日本語 (Japanese language), 毎日 (every day), and 日曜日 (Sunday).

Common Words

  • 日本（にほん / nihon） — Japan
  • 日本語（にほんご / nihongo） — Japanese language
  • 毎日（まいにち / mainichi） — every day
  • 日曜日（にちようび / nichiyōbi） — Sunday
  • 今日（きょう / kyō） — today
  • 日の出（ひので / hinode） — sunrise

Example Sentences

  • 毎日日本語を勉強しています。

    まいにちにほんごをべんきょうしています。 / Mainichi Nihongo o benkyō shite imasu.

    I study Japanese every day.

  • 今日は天気がいいです。

    きょうはてんきがいいです。 / Kyō wa tenki ga ii desu.

    The weather is nice today.

  • 日曜日に友達と会います。

    にちようびにともだちとあいます。 / Nichiyōbi ni tomodachi to aimasu.

    I will meet my friend on Sunday.

Related Kanji

  • 月

    — Moon and month; 日 and 月 form the basic pair for time and sky vocabulary.

  • 本

    — 日本 combines 日 and 本 and is one of the first words learners encounter.

  • 年

    — Day, month, and year form the core time set 日・月・年.

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

Start with the high-frequency readings にち, じつ, ひ, and か. The reading にち appears in 毎日 and 日曜日, while ひ appears in 日の出. Date words such as 一日 and 二日 have special readings, so learn them as vocabulary rather than trying to force one rule.

Summary

日 means sun and day. It is essential for talking about Japan, dates, weekdays, and daily life.