荷 means “load, luggage, cargo”
に · ni
Also: baggage, shoulder-pole load, bear (a burden), shoulder (a gun)
- Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
- に
- On'yomi (Chinese reading)
- カ
JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 3 · 10 strokes
The story
Plants (艹) over 何, a character that first pictured a person shouldering a load: something to carry. 荷物 is luggage or a parcel, 出荷 is shipping goods out, and 荷が重い, "the load is heavy," is said of a job that feels like too much.
Used in 荷物 (nimotsu, luggage/package), 出荷 (shukka, shipment), and 重荷 (omoni, burden)
More from Getting It There
Learn 荷 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji
Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.