Meet 館 in 図書館 and 映画館. The examples connect each word’s reading with a useful context.

The idea

館 has 16 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 図書館（としょかん） and 映画館（えいがかん） as complete words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
図書館としょかんThere is a library near the station.
映画館えいがかんI watch a new film at the cinema.
美術館びじゅつかんI saw paintings at the art museum.
旅館りょかんI spent one night at a Japanese inn.

Examples

  • 駅えきの近ちかくに図書館としょかんがあります。There is a library near the station.
  • 映画館えいがかんで新あたらしい映画えいがを見みます。I watch a new film at the cinema.
  • 美術館びじゅつかんで絵えを見みました。I saw paintings at the art museum.
  • 旅館りょかんに一泊いっぱくしました。I spent one night at a Japanese inn.
  • 水族館すいぞくかんにはいろいろな魚さかながいます。There are many kinds of fish at the aquarium.
  • 体育館たいいくかんでバスケットボールをします。I play basketball in the gymnasium.

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

Watch out

館 appears in names for many kinds of buildings: 図書館 is a library, while 旅館 is an inn. It does not always mean a public building. Compare the shapes of 館 and 官; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 図書館 in hiragana.

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    としょかん

    図書館 is read としょかん. In context: There is a library near the station.

  2. Write the reading of 映画館 in hiragana.

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    えいがかん

    映画館 is read えいがかん. In context: I watch a new film at the cinema.

  3. Write the missing kanji: 図書＿（としょかん）.

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    館

    館 completes 図書館, read としょかん. In context: There is a library near the station.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 館 from memory, read 図書館 and 映画館 aloud, then make a sentence with one of them.