Explore 被 through things suffered or covered. Learn each reading in a complete word and context.

The idea

被 has 10 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Its on-reading ひ appears in 被害（ひがい）, 被災者（ひさいしゃ） and 被害者（ひがいしゃ）. 被る is read かぶる when wearing something on the head; 被う can be read おおう, to cover.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
被害ひがいThe typhoon caused extensive damage.
被災者ひさいしゃFood reached the disaster victims.
被害者ひがいしゃHe is a victim of fraud.
被るかぶるThe child is wearing a hat.

Examples

  • 台風たいふうで大おおきな被害ひがいが出でました。The typhoon caused extensive damage.
  • 被災者ひさいしゃに食料しょくりょうが届とどきました。Food reached the disaster victims.
  • 彼かれは詐欺さぎの被害者ひがいしゃです。He is a victim of fraud.
  • 工事こうじで道路どうろが被おおわれています。The road is covered because of construction.
  • 子こどもが帽子ぼうしを被かぶっています。The child is wearing a hat.
  • 被告ひこくは法廷ほうていで話はなしました。The defendant spoke in court.

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

Watch out

Do not confuse 被 with 彼: both have 皮, but their left components differ. 被害 means damage, while 被害者 is a person who suffers it; かぶる can also mean suffering damage depending on context.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 被害 in hiragana.

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    ひがい

    被害 is ひがい: damage. The typhoon caused extensive damage.

  2. Write the reading of 被災者 in hiragana.

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    ひさいしゃ

    被災者 is ひさいしゃ: a person affected by a disaster. Food reached the disaster victims.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿害者（ひがいしゃ）［被／彼］.

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    被

    被 completes 被害者（ひがいしゃ）, a victim. 彼 is a different character.

Use it today

Write 被 following the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 被害 and 被災者, and make a sentence using one.