Kanji 航: navigate, sail, cruise, fly

Key takeaways

Kanji 航: navigate, sail, cruise, fly. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

航

Meaning

navigatesailcruisefly

On reading

コウ

Radical

舟

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 航

navigate, sail, cruise, fly

Kanji structure breakdown

航

Structure breakdown

舟 + 亢

Mnemonic story

Imagine a boat (舟) traveling across the high (亢) seas or through the high sky. This character is used for both 'navigation' (sailing) and 'aviation' (flying).

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

コウ

航海こうかい
voyage / sailing / navigation
航空こうくう
aviation / air transport

Commonly used words

航海
こうかい
voyage / sailing / navigation
航空
こうくう
aviation / air transport

Example sentences

Example 1

彼は世界一周の航海に出た。

Translation

He set out on a voyage around the world.

Example 2

航海の安全を祈ります。

Translation

We pray for the safety of the voyage.

Example 3

航空会社の仕事に興味があります。

Translation

I am interested in working for an airline.

Example 4

日本の航空技術はとても進んでいます。

Translation

Japan's aviation technology is very advanced.

Kanji 航: navigate, sail, cruise, fly

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

航海 (こうかい): meaning and examples

航空 (こうくう): meaning and examples