字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

south

On’yomi ナン、ナ
Kun’yomi みなみ
Nanori なみ、は、みな、みまみ

Origin

This character appears to be a picture of a simple dwelling or structure, with the top part representing a roof or shelter and the bottom part representing the frame or walls. In ancient China, the character came to be associated with the south, possibly because southern dwellings had a distinctive appearance or because of how the character's shape was conventionally drawn and understood. Over time, the visual connection to a building faded from common awareness, and the character became purely a symbol for the direction south, much like how we use arbitrary symbols for directions today.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.

南 9 strokes

Components

This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (南).

  • 南 meaning part

Common words

  • 西南 せいなん south-west
  • 東南 とうなん south-east
  • 南緯 なんい southern latitude
  • 南海 なんかい southern sea
  • 南極 なんきょく South Pole
  • 南口 みなみぐち south entrance; south exit
  • 南蛮 なんばん southern barbarians (name used in ancient China for non-Chinese ethnic groups to the south)
  • 南部 なんぶ southern part; the south (of a region)

Related kanji

Same radical

Reference

Strokes
9
Kangxi radical
24
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#341 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 4
Unicode
U+05357