Meaning & readings

mountain peak, mountain pass, climax, crest, (kokuji)

Kun’yomi とうげ

Origin

This character is a Japanese invention (called a kokuji) that combines the idea of a mountain with a crucial point. The left side shows the mountain radical, which depicts a peaked landform. The right side contains a small marker or accent that represents the passing point — the specific spot where a mountain road crosses over a ridge. Together, the character visually suggests the peak or pass of a mountain, capturing both the geography and the sense of reaching a critical high point before descending.

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

9 strokes

Components

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

  • meaning part

Reference

Strokes
9
Kangxi radical
46
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1941 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+05CE0