Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 9
南 south
- Meaning
- south
- On reading
- ナン
- Kun reading
- みなみ
Memory hook
A frame with 干 tucked inside: a warm shelter turned to face the sun, which in Japan means facing south. ナン in compounds, みなみ on its own.
Words that use 南
南
みなみ
south
南口
みなみぐち
south exit
How to write 南
Stroke order · 9 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
- 1. Horizontal.
- 2 to 3. Vertical.
- 4. Horizontal, then turn down, ending in a hook.
- 5 to 6. A short dot.
- 7 to 8. Horizontal.
- 9. Vertical.
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).
南 is taught on day 15 of the kanji course, alongside 北 山 川, with two writing passes and a short quiz.