The character 体 relates to body; physical. Learn its readings together with whole words and see them in context.

The idea

Kanji may have native Japanese readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn a reading with its word. Learn complete words: 体 (からだ) means the body, and 体育 (たいいく) means physical education. 体 has 7 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
体からだthe body
体育たいいくphysical education
体温たいおんbody temperature

Examples

  • 毎朝まいあさ体からだを動うごかします。I move my body every morning.
  • 体からだをゆっくり休やすめてください。Please give your body plenty of rest.
  • 子こどもたちには体育たいいくの授業じゅぎょうがあります。The children have a physical education class.
  • 体育たいいくの時間じかんにみんなで走はしりました。We all ran during physical education class.
  • 朝あさ体温たいおんを測はかりました。I took my temperature in the morning.
  • 体温たいおんを紙かみに書かいてください。Please write your temperature on the paper.

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

Watch out

体 alone is からだ, but in 体育 and 体温 it is たい. Compare 体 with 休: the right side of 体 has an extra horizontal stroke. Do not guess a word’s reading or meaning from the character alone: compare 体 and 体育. Also compare the shapes of 体 and 休; they are different characters. Compare the components: 体：亻＋本／休：亻＋木.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 体 in hiragana.

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    からだ

    体 is read からだ and means the body.

  2. Write the reading of 体育 in hiragana.

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    たいいく

    体育 is read たいいく and means physical education.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿温（たいおん）.

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    体

    体 completes 体温, read たいおん; the word means body temperature.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 体 from memory, read 体 and 体育 aloud, and make a sentence with one of them.