Explore 星 in the night sky and in words for constellations and planets. Learn each reading with its whole word.
The idea
星 has 9 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 星 is ほし on its own, while 星座（せいざ） and 惑星（わくせい） use せい. 星空 is ほしぞら: 空 changes to ぞら in this compound.
Examples
- 今夜は星がよく見えます。The stars are clearly visible tonight.
- 山で美しい星空を見ました。I saw a beautiful starry sky in the mountains.
- あの明るい星の名前を知っていますか。Do you know the name of that bright star?
- 子どもたちは星座の本を読んでいます。The children are reading a book about constellations.
- 地球は太陽のまわりを回る惑星です。Earth is a planet that orbits the Sun.
- 雲が多くて、星が見えません。There are so many clouds that I cannot see the stars.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
星 can refer broadly to a visible celestial object, but 惑星 specifically means planet and 星座 means constellation. Do not assume every 星 is pronounced ほし.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 星 in hiragana.
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ほし
星 is ほし: 今夜は星がよく見えます describes stars visible tonight.
Write the reading of 星座 in hiragana.
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せいざ
星座 is せいざ, a constellation. Remember the reading with the complete compound.
Choose the missing kanji: 惑＿（わくせい）［星／生］.
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星
星 completes 惑星（わくせい）, a planet; Earth is one example.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 星 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 星座 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: 惑＿（わくせい）［星／生］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 星 following the diagram. Cover the readings, read 星座 and 惑星, then describe the sky in a sentence.