Kanji 歌: song, sing

Key takeaways

Kanji 歌: song, sing. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

歌

Meaning

songsing

On reading

カ

Kun reading

うたうた.う

Radical

欠

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 歌

song, sing

Kanji structure breakdown

歌

Structure breakdown

哥 + 欠

Mnemonic story

An elder brother (哥) opens his mouth wide, like a yawn (欠), to sing a song. Imagine someone opening their mouth fully to let out a beautiful melody.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

カ

短歌たんか
tanka / short Japanese poem
歌謡かよう
song / ballad
歌手かしゅ
singer

Kun reading

うた

歌うた
song
歌ううたう
to sing

Commonly used words

短歌
たんか
tanka / short Japanese poem
歌謡
かよう
song / ballad
歌手
かしゅ
singer
歌
うた
song
歌う
うたう
to sing

Example sentences

Example 1

短歌を作るのが好きです。

Translation

I like composing tanka poems.

Example 2

短歌は三十一音でできています。

Translation

A tanka consists of 31 syllables.

Example 3

昔の歌謡をよく聞きます。

Translation

I often listen to old ballads.

Example 4

カラオケで歌謡を歌いました。

Translation

I sang a popular song at karaoke.

Kanji 歌: song, sing

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Kun reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

短歌 (たんか): meaning and examples

歌謡 (かよう): meaning and examples

歌手 (かしゅ): meaning and examples

歌 (うた): meaning and examples

歌う (うたう): meaning and examples