Explore 祈 in prayers and wishes, connecting each reading to a whole word and a natural context.

The idea

祈 has 8 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 祈る（いのる） is a verb, 祈り（いのり） a noun, and 祈願（きがん） a formal word for praying for a specific outcome.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
祈るいのるI pray for my family’s health.
祈りいのりHer prayer reached everyone’s hearts.
祈願きがんI prayed at the shrine for success in the examination.

Examples

  • 家族かぞくの健康けんこうを祈いのります。I pray for my family’s health.
  • 私わたしたちは平和へいわを祈いのりました。We prayed for peace.
  • 旅たびの安全あんぜんを祈いのっています。I pray that your trip will be safe.
  • 彼女かのじょの祈いのりがみんなの心こころに届とどきました。Her prayer reached everyone’s hearts.
  • 神社じんじゃで試験しけんの合格ごうかくを祈願きがんしました。I prayed at the shrine for success in the examination.
  • 一日いちにちも早はやいご回復かいふくをお祈いのりします。We wish for a speedy recovery.

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 read every occurrence as いの: the compound 祈願 uses き. 祈る can express a sincere wish as well as religious prayer.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 祈る in hiragana.

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    いのる

    祈る is いのる: 家族の健康を祈ります means “I pray for my family’s health.”

  2. Write the reading of 祈願 in hiragana.

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    きがん

    祈願 is きがん: 合格を祈願する means to pray for success in an examination.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿り（いのり）［祈／近］.

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    祈

    祈 completes 祈り（いのり）, the noun “prayer”; 近 means near.

Use it today

Write 祈 using the diagram, then cover the table and read 祈る and 祈願. Make a sentence wishing someone well.