字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

mouth

On’yomi コウ、ク
Kun’yomi くち

Origin

This character is a simple picture of a mouth. The square shape represents the opening of the mouth, and the character has kept this straightforward visual form since ancient times. Because mouths are essential for eating, speaking, and breathing, this pictograph came to mean "mouth" in general, and it's now also used as a classifier in more complex characters to indicate meanings related to mouths, speech, or openings.

口 3 strokes

Components

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

Common words

  • 一口 ひとくち mouthful; morsel
  • 陰口 かげぐち malicious gossip; backbiting
  • 開口 かいこう opening; aperture (e.g. camera)
  • 間口 まぐち frontage; width (of a building, plot of land, etc.)
  • 戸口 とぐち door; doorway
  • 口火 くちび fuse; pilot light
  • 口径 こうけい aperture; bore
  • 口語 こうご spoken language; colloquial speech

Related kanji

Same radical

Reference

Strokes
3
Kangxi radical
30
Formation type
Pictographic or simple
Grade
Grade 1 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#284 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 4
Unicode
U+053E3