読 – JLPT N5 Kanji, Kanji for read (With 3D Visualization)
Kanji for read
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
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読
- Meanings
- read
- Onyomi
- ドク
- Kunyomi
- よ.む
- Name Readings
- よみ
- JLPT
- N5
- Grade
- 2
- Frequency
- -
- Kanji Writing Practice
- Practice
Stroke Order
Story
The kanji 読 combines 言 (speech, words) on the left with 売 (to sell) on the right. In ancient writing, this pairing suggested “words that are exchanged” — much like messages or stories being passed from one person to another. Over time, the meaning shifted from simply “speaking words” to “understanding and interpreting words,” which became “to read.” It carries the sense of receiving meaning from written or spoken language.
Short Story
Made from 言 (words) and 売 (to exchange), 読 shows the idea of receiving and understanding words — to read and take in meaning.
Mnemonic
Picture yourself holding a book — inside are words (言) that someone once offered to the world (売). As your eyes move over each line, you’re receiving and interpreting those words — that’s 読, the act of reading and understanding language.
Vocabulary Examples
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 読書 | どくしょ | reading (books) | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 読む | よむ | to read | common JLPT-N5 Godan verb with 'mu' ending, Transitive verb |
| 読み | よみ | reading | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 読者 | どくしゃ | reader | common JLPT-N1 Noun |
| 読み上げる | よみあげる | to read out, to read aloud, to call out | common JLPT-N1 Ichidan verb, Transitive verb |
| 読み書き | よみかき | reading and writing | common Noun |
| 読み方 | よみかた | pronunciation, reading (e.g. of a kanji) | common Noun |
| 読み物 | よみもの | reading matter, reading material | common Noun |
| 読みにくい | よみにくい | hard to read, illegible | common I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 読み取る | よみとる | to read and understand, to take in | Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Transitive verb |
| 読みきる | よみきる | to finish reading, to read through | Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Transitive verb |
| 読み返す | よみかえす | to reread, to read again | Godan verb with 'su' ending, Transitive verb |
| 読破 | どくは | reading through (a book), finishing (a book) | Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |
| 読み直す | よみなおす | to read (a book, etc.) over again | Godan verb with 'su' ending |
| 読み終わる | よみおわる | to finish reading, to read through | Godan verb with 'ru' ending |