Japanese kanji 庭: gardens and family

The idea

庭 has 10 strokes. Follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 庭（にわ） means garden; 庭園（ていえん） means a landscaped garden, 中庭（なかにわ） a courtyard, and 家庭（かてい） a household or family.

Examples

• 庭にわに花はなが咲さいています。Flowers bloom in the garden.
• 私わたしの猫ねこは庭にわで遊あそんでいます。My cat is playing in the garden.
• 私わたしたちは美うつくしい日本にほん庭園ていえんを訪おとずれました。We visited a beautiful Japanese garden.
• 祖母そぼは毎朝まいあさ庭にわに水みずをやります。My grandmother waters the garden every morning.
• 中庭なかにわに木きがあります。There is a tree in the courtyard.
• 家庭かていによって違ちがいます。Every family is different.

Watch out

Do not read every 庭 as にわ: compounds such as 庭園 and 家庭 use てい. 家庭 refers to a household or family, not a garden.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 庭 in hiragana.

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   にわ

   庭 is にわ: 庭に花が咲いています means flowers bloom in the garden.

2. Write the reading of 家庭 in hiragana.

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   かてい

   家庭 is かてい. It refers to a household or family, as in 家庭によって違います.

3. Choose the missing kanji: 中＿（なかにわ）［庭／店］.

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   庭

   庭 completes 中庭（なかにわ）, a courtyard. 中 indicates the space inside.

Use it today

Write 庭 using the diagram. Cover the table, read 庭 and 家庭 aloud, and make a sentence with one of them.