Meet 公 in 公園 (park) and 公立 (publicly established or run). Learn each reading and meaning with the whole word.

The idea

公 has 4 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. Read 公園 as こうえん and 公立 as こうりつ. N4 is an estimated learning level, not an official JLPT kanji list.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
公園こうえんpark
公立こうりつpublicly established or run

Examples

  • 公園こうえんに木きがあります。There is a tree in the park.
  • 子供こどもたちは公園こうえんで遊あそんでいます。The children are playing in the park.
  • いっしょに公園こうえんに行いきませんか。Would you like to go to the park together?
  • この公園こうえんはとても静しずかです。This park is very quiet.
  • 駅えきの北きたに公園こうえんがあります。There is a park north of the station.
  • この学校がっこうは公立こうりつです。This school is public.

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

Watch out

Compare the shapes of 公 and 会. Read whole words: 公園 means park, whereas 公立 means publicly established or run. 公立 describes an institution established or run by a public authority, not a private one.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 公園 in hiragana.

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    こうえん

    公園 is read こうえん and means park. In the example: There is a tree in the park.

  2. Write the reading of 公立 in hiragana.

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    こうりつ

    公立 is read こうりつ and means publicly established or run. In the example: This school is public.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿立（こうりつ）［公／会］.

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    公

    公 completes 公立, read こうりつ; the word means publicly established or run.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 公 from memory, then read 公園 and 公立 aloud. Check their readings and meanings.