Meet 胃 in everyday and medical words about the stomach. Learn each reading with its whole word.

The idea

胃 has 9 strokes and is normally read い. In 胃薬（いぐすり）, 胃痛（いつう） and 胃腸（いちょう）, it combines with other characters; follow the linked diagram to practise its stroke order.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
胃いMy stomach hurts.
胃薬いぐすりI take stomach medicine after eating.
胃痛いつうI have had stomach pain since last night.
胃腸いちょうMy stomach and intestines are not feeling well.

Examples

  • 胃いが痛いたいです。My stomach hurts.
  • 食後しょくごに胃薬いぐすりを飲のみます。I take stomach medicine after eating.
  • 昨夜さくやから胃痛いつうが続つづいています。I have had stomach pain since last night.
  • 胃腸いちょうの調子ちょうしがよくないです。My stomach and intestines are not feeling well.
  • 医者いしゃに胃いを診みてもらいました。I had a doctor examine my stomach.
  • 胃いに優やさしい食事しょくじを選えらびます。I choose food that is gentle on the stomach.

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

Watch out

胃 names the stomach as an organ. お腹 is a broader everyday word for the belly, so the two are not always interchangeable. The 薬 in 胃薬 is read ぐすり here, not くすり.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 胃薬 in hiragana.

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    いぐすり

    胃薬 is いぐすり: medicine for the stomach. 薬 changes from くすり to ぐすり in this compound.

  2. Write the reading of 胃腸 in hiragana.

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    いちょう

    胃腸 is いちょう and refers to the stomach and intestines together.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿痛（いつう）［胃／田］.

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    胃

    胃 completes 胃痛（いつう）, meaning stomach pain.

Use it today

Write 胃 following the diagram, then cover the table and read the three compounds aloud. Make a sentence using one.