Discover 香 in everyday words for scents and fragrant things. Learn each reading with the whole word.

The idea

香 has 9 strokes; use the linked diagram for stroke order. 香り is かおり and 香る is かおる; compounds include 香水（こうすい） and 香辛料（こうしんりょう）. お香（おこう） means incense.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
香りかおり
香水こうすい
お香おこう
香辛料こうしんりょう
香ばしいかおばしい
香るかおる

Examples

  • 花はなの香かおりが部屋へやに広ひろがります。The scent of flowers fills the room.
  • 母ははは香水こうすいをつけています。My mother is wearing perfume.
  • 寺てらでお香こうをたきます。I burn incense at the temple.
  • このカレーには香辛料こうしんりょうがたくさん入はいっています。This curry contains lots of spices.
  • 焼やきたてのパンが香かおばしいです。The freshly baked bread smells fragrant.
  • 庭にわの花はなが甘あまく香かおります。The flowers in the garden smell sweet.

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

Watch out

香り is a scent, while お香 is incense. 香ばしい describes a pleasant toasted or roasted aroma, not just any smell.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 香り in hiragana.

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    かおり

    香り is かおり: the scent of flowers fills the room. Remember the reading with the whole word.

  2. Write the reading of 香水 in hiragana.

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    こうすい

    香水 is こうすい, perfume. The compound uses こう, not かお.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: お＿（こう）［香／音］.

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    香

    香 completes お香（おこう）, incense. 音 means sound and does not form this word.

Use it today

Write 香 following the diagram. Cover the table, read 香り and 香水, then make a sentence with one.