岸 names land at the edge of water. Learn its readings in complete words and see how context identifies the shore.

The idea

岸 has 8 strokes. Follow the linked diagram to write it. 岸（きし） is a shore or bank; 海岸（かいがん）, 対岸（たいがん） and 河岸（かし） use readings learned with each word.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingMeaning
岸きしshore; bank
海岸かいがんcoast
対岸たいがんopposite shore
河岸かしriverbank

Examples

  • 川かわの岸きしを歩あるきました。We walked along the riverbank.
  • 海岸かいがんに灯台とうだいがあります。There is a lighthouse on the coast.
  • 対岸たいがんに町まちが見みえます。A town can be seen on the opposite bank.
  • 船ふねが岸きしに近ちかづいています。A boat is approaching the shore.
  • 海岸かいがんでごみを拾ひろいました。We picked up rubbish along the coast.
  • 河岸かしに桜さくらの木きが並ならんでいます。Cherry trees line the riverbank.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

岸 is the edge of land beside water; it does not necessarily mean a sandy beach. For a sandy beach, 砂浜（すなはま） is more specific.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 岸 in hiragana.

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    きし

    岸 is きし when used as this word for a bank or shore.

  2. Write the reading of 海岸 in hiragana.

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    かいがん

    海岸 is かいがん: 海 means sea and 岸 marks its shore.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 対＿（たいがん）［岸／山］.

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    岸

    岸 completes 対岸（たいがん）, the shore on the opposite side.

Use it today

Write 岸 following the diagram, then cover the table and read 海岸 and 対岸. Make a sentence about a riverbank.