Japanese kanji 話: to speak; talk

The idea

話 has 13 strokes. Follow the order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 話す（はなす）, “to speak; talk”, with 話（はなし）, “talk; story”. A character may be read differently from word to word; learn each word as a unit.

Examples

• 私わたしは日本語にほんごを話はなします。I speak Japanese.
• 昨日きのう、友達ともだちの話はなしを聞ききました。Yesterday I listened to a friend’s story.
• 友達ともだちに電話でんわをかけます。I call a friend.
• この話はなしはおもしろいです。This story is interesting.
• 先生せんせいと日本語にほんごで話はなします。I speak Japanese with the teacher.
• 二人ふたりの会話かいわを聞ききます。I listen to the conversation between the two people.

Watch out

話す is a verb meaning “speak”; 話（はなし） is a noun such as “story” or “conversation”. Compare the shape of 話 with 語; notice how their components differ.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 話す (to speak; talk) in hiragana.

   Show answer or example answer

   はなす

   話す is read はなす and means “to speak; talk”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

2. Write the reading of 話 (talk; story) in hiragana.

   Show answer or example answer

   はなし

   話 is read はなし and means “talk; story”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

3. Fill in the missing kanji: 電＿（でんわ）.

   Show answer or example answer

   話

   話 completes 電話（でんわ）, meaning “telephone; phone call”.

4. Which word means “talk; story”? Write the whole word using kanji: 話 or 話す.

   Show answer or example answer

   話

   話 is read はなし and means “talk; story”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word. 話す instead means “to speak; talk”.

Use it today

Write 話 three times following the linked stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 話す and 話 aloud, and then check their readings and meanings.