Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 4
男 man
- Meaning
- man
- On reading
- ダン・ナン
- Kun reading
- おとこ
Memory hook
田 (rice field) over 力 (strength): strength out in the rice field. ダン or ナン in compounds, おとこ on its own.
Words that use 男
男
おとこ
man
男の子
おとこのこ
boy
How to write 男
Stroke order · 7 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
- 1. Vertical.
- 2. Horizontal, then turn down.
- 3. Vertical.
- 4 to 5. Horizontal.
- 6. Horizontal, then turn down, ending in a hook.
- 7. The sweep down to the left.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
男 is taught on day 18 of the kanji course, alongside 人 女 子, with two writing passes and a short quiz.