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11.1 Kanji: 口, 入, 出, 右, 左, 東, 西, 南, 北

This module focuses on kanji related to directions and positions, including 口 (mouth/entrance), 入 (enter), 出 (exit), 右 (right), 左 (left), 東 (east), 西 (west), 南 (south) and 北 (north).

Kanji for this module

Directions and positions: 口, 入, 出, 右, 左, 東, 西, 南, 北

Kanji for directions and positions

Here is a table showing the kanji 口 (mouth/entrance), 入 (enter), 出 (exit), 右 (right), 左 (left), 東 (east), 西 (west), 南 (south) and 北 (north), along with their kun-readings, on-readings and example phrases. We will focus on the highlighted readings and words:

Kanji Kun-reading On-reading Example Phrases
口 くち, ぐち こう 口（くち: kuchi: mouth）, 入口（いりぐち: iri-guchi: entrance）, 人口 （じんこう: jinkou: population）
入 い（る）, はい（る） にゅう 入（はい）る（hairu: to enter）, 入口（いりぐち: iri-guchi: entrance）, 入学（にゅうがく: nyuugaku: entrance to school）
出 で（る）, だ（す） しゅつ, しゅっ 出（で）る（deru: to exit）, 出口（でぐち: de-guchi: exit）, 出発（しゅっぱつ: shuppatsu: departure
右 みぎ う 右（みぎ: migi: right）, 右手（みぎて: migi-te: right hand）, 右側（みぎがわ: migi-gawa: right side）, 右折（うせつ: usetsu: right turn）
左 ひだり さ 左（ひだり: hidari: left）, 左手（ひだりて: hidari-te: left hand）, 左側（ひだりがわ: hidari-gawa: left side）, 左折（させつ: sasetsu: left turn）
東 ひがし とう 東（ひがし: higashi: east）, 東口（ひがしぐち: higashi-guchi: east exit）, 東京（とうきょう: Toukyou: Tokyo）
西 にし せい, さい 西（にし: nishi: west）, 西口（にしぐち: nishi-guchi: west exit）, 西洋 （せいよう: seiyou: Western countries）
南 みなみ なん 南（みなみ: minami: south）, 南口（みなみぐち: minami-guchi: south exit）, 南極（なんきょく: Nankyoku: Antarctica）
北 きた ほく, ほっ 北（きた: kita: north）, 北口（きたぐち: kita-guchi: north exit）, 北海道 （ほっかいどう: Hokkaidou: Hokkaido）

Further resources

The following resource created by Learn Japanese with Moonchan demonstrates how to write and read the kanji characters 入 (enter) and 出 (exit):

This resource created by Japan Gedara shows you how to write the kanji character 口 (mouth/entrance):

This resource created by The Essence Of Kanji will focus on the kanji characters 右 (right) and 左 (left):

In this resource created by Elearningnihongo, you can learn how to write kanji characters and use them to read directions: 東 (east), 西 (west), 南 (south) and 北 (north). The second resource created by Samurai’s Japanese Stories provides a more detailed breakdown of each kanji’s composition:

Exercise 1

Are you ready to sharpen your kanji-writing skills this week? Download and print the PDF kanji worksheet to start practising and mastering these characters! There’s something timeless and powerful about putting pen to paper – it’s one of the best ways to truly learn kanji!

Chapter 11 Kanji Worksheet

References

Learn Japanese with Moon-chan. “Learn How to Read and Write Kanji Enter and Go Out | 入る出る | Japanese Learning Anime.” YouTube video, 4:13. August 18, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=662TZHyhwQc.

The Essence of Kanji. “9 むき（右、左、上、下）Directions Essential Kanji Slides (Ver.1).” YouTube video, 2:56. December 30, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLq2hxjAYaE.

Elearningnihongo. “N5 kanji (東西南北).” YouTube video, 1:07. May 18, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irYnWnTZFvU.

Samurai’s Japanese Story. “(JLPT N5 Kanji for Beginners) Directions 東西南北—Learn Readings, Vocabularies—Kanji Quiz & Mnemonic.” YouTube video, 9:28. February 16, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoEdKyB9lE0.

Licence

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Japanese Introductory 1 Copyright © 2024 by Iori Hamada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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