Meet 堂 in 食堂 and 講堂. The examples connect each word’s reading with a useful context.

The idea

堂 has 11 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 食堂（しょくどう） and 講堂（こうどう） as complete words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
食堂しょくどうI eat lunch in the dining hall.
講堂こうどうThe entrance ceremony is in the auditorium.
お堂おどうI took a photo of an old temple hall.
堂々どうどうI spoke confidently about my ideas.

Examples

  • 食堂しょくどうで昼ひるご飯はんを食たべます。I eat lunch in the dining hall.
  • この食堂しょくどうは日曜日にちようび休やすみです。This dining hall is closed on Sundays.
  • 講堂こうどうで入学式にゅうがくしきがあります。The entrance ceremony is in the auditorium.
  • 古ふるいお堂どうを写真しゃしんに撮とりました。I took a photo of an old temple hall.
  • 議事堂ぎじどうの前まえにたくさんの人ひとがいます。There are many people in front of the parliament building.
  • 堂々どうどうと自分じぶんの考かんがえを話はなしました。I spoke confidently about my ideas.

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

Watch out

食堂 is a dining hall, whereas 講堂 is an auditorium. 堂々と means confidently or dignifiedly, not a kind of building. Compare the shapes of 堂 and 常; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 食堂 in hiragana.

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    しょくどう

    食堂 is read しょくどう. In context: I eat lunch in the dining hall.

  2. Write the reading of 講堂 in hiragana.

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    こうどう

    講堂 is read こうどう. In context: The entrance ceremony is in the auditorium.

  3. Write the missing kanji: 食＿（しょくどう）.

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    堂

    堂 completes 食堂, read しょくどう. In context: I eat lunch in the dining hall.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 堂 from memory, read 食堂 and 講堂 aloud, then make a sentence with one of them.