Some kanji share a component that offers a clue to their sound. Learn the clue alongside real words.

The idea

In 晴 and 清, 青 is a phonetic component: 晴天 and 清潔 both begin with the on-reading せい. Their left sides differ: 日 relates to the sun and 氵 to water. 青 itself also has せい in 青色.

Patterns to compare
CharacterComponentExample reading
晴青晴天（せいてん）
清青清潔（せいけつ）
青青青色（せいしょく）

Examples

  • 今日きょうは天気てんきが晴はれです。The weather is clear today.
  • 明日あしたの天気てんきは晴はれでしょう。It will probably be sunny tomorrow.
  • 先生せんせいに質問しつもんします。I ask the teacher a question.
  • 質問しつもんを紙かみに書かきます。I write the question on paper.
  • 水みずが清きよく流ながれます。The water flows clear.
  • 清潔せいけつな水みずを使つかいます。I use clean water.

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

Watch out

A shared component does not guarantee identical readings. 晴れ is はれ and 清い is きよい: these are kun-readings. Check each word rather than guessing its pronunciation.

Try it yourself

  1. 晴の右側は＿。（青／木）

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    青

    青 is on the right of 晴; its left side is 日.

  2. 清潔の清の読よみは＿。（せい／きよ）

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    せい

    清潔 is せいけつ, so 清 is read せい here. 清い instead begins きよ.

  3. 晴天の晴の読よみは＿。（せい／はれ）

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    せい

    晴天 is せいてん: 晴 has the on-reading せい here, unlike はれ in 晴れ.

Use it today

Find 晴 and 清 in the examples. Compare their left sides and 青, then read 晴天 and 清潔 aloud and contrast them with 晴れ and 清い.