Recognize 花 in everyday Japanese, learn its meanings (flower) and read it as part of complete words.

The idea

A kanji can have Japanese-origin readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn each reading with its word. Compare 花（はな） and 花瓶（かびん） in the table. 花 has 7 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
花はなflower
花瓶かびんvase
花屋はなやflower shop
花火はなびfireworks

Examples

  • 庭にわに花はなが咲さいています。Flowers are blooming in the garden.
  • 友達ともだちに花はなを贈おくります。I give flowers to a friend.
  • 花屋はなやで赤あかい花はなを買かいます。I buy red flowers at the flower shop.
  • 花瓶かびんに花はなを入いれます。I put flowers in a vase.
  • 夏なつに花火はなびを見みます。I watch fireworks in summer.
  • この花はなは白しろくてきれいです。This flower is white and beautiful.

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

Watch out

花 is read はな, while 花瓶 is read かびん. Learn the reading of each complete word; the character does not have just one pronunciation. 花 and 鼻 both read はな, but 鼻 means “nose”.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 花 in hiragana.

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    はな

    花 is read はな; the expression means “flower”.

  2. Write the reading of 花瓶 in hiragana.

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    かびん

    花瓶 is read かびん; the expression means “vase”.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿瓶（かびん）.

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    花

    花 completes 花瓶, read かびん; the expression means “vase”.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 花 from memory, and read 花 and 花瓶 aloud. Check both the readings and meanings.