府 appears in administrative names and government words. Learn its reading in complete words.

The idea

府 has nine strokes and is read ふ in 大阪府, 京都府 and 政府. Follow the linked stroke diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
大阪府おおさかふI live in Osaka Prefecture.
京都府きょうとふWe visited a temple in Kyoto Prefecture.
政府せいふThe government announced a new policy.

Examples

  • 大阪府おおさかふに住すんでいます。I live in Osaka Prefecture.
  • 京都府きょうとふのお寺てらを訪おとずれました。We visited a temple in Kyoto Prefecture.
  • 政府せいふが新あたらしい政策せいさくを発表はっぴょうしました。The government announced a new policy.
  • 大阪府おおさかふのウェブサイトを確認かくにんしました。I checked the Osaka prefectural government website.
  • 友達ともだちは京都府庁きょうとふちょうで働はたらいています。My friend works at the Kyoto prefectural office.
  • 政府せいふは予算よさんを話はなし合あっています。The government is discussing the budget.

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

Watch out

府 is not a general word for every prefecture: most use 県, while Osaka and Kyoto use 府. 政府 means government, not a prefecture.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 大阪府 in hiragana.

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    おおさかふ

    大阪府 is read おおさかふ; 府 is ふ in this prefecture name.

  2. Write the reading of 政府 in hiragana.

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    せいふ

    政府 is read せいふ and means government; learn the whole compound.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 京都＿（きょうとふ）［府／県］.

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    府

    府 completes 京都府, the name of Kyoto Prefecture.

Use it today

Write 府 using the diagram, then read 大阪府 and 政府 aloud and make a sentence with one.