Kanji 砲: cannon, gun

Key takeaways

Kanji 砲: cannon, gun. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

砲

Meaning

cannongun

On reading

ほう

Radical

石

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 砲

cannon, gun

Kanji structure breakdown

砲

Structure breakdown

石 + 包

Mnemonic story

In ancient times, catapults that threw wrapped (包) stones (石) were the precursors to cannons. Imagine a powerful weapon firing stone-like projectiles. It is used in words like cannon (大砲) and artillery shell (砲彈).

On'yomi and kun'yomi

Example sentences

Example 1

古い鉄砲を博物館で見た。

Translation

I saw an old gun at the museum.

Example 2

鉄砲を安全に使う方法を学ぼう。