階 means “floor, story”

かい · kai

Also: storey, stair, counter for storeys of a building

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

きざはし

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

カイ

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 3 · 12 strokes

The story

Steps carved into a hillside lead upward: each floor of a building is another step on the climb to the sky.

Used for building floors: 一階 (ikkai, 1st floor), 階段 (kaidan, stairs)

More from Places & Buildings

• 宮 palace
• 学 study
• 校 school
• 駅 station
• 寺 temple
• 塔 tower
• 宿 inn
• 堂 hall
• 城 castle
• 門 gate
• 園 garden
• 道 road

Learn 階 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.