月 means “moon”

つき · tsuki

Also: month

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): つき
On'yomi (Chinese reading): ゲツ, ガツ

JLPT N5 · Taught in grade 1 · 4 strokes

The story

Poets gather by moonlight to compose haiku, silver beams inspiring verses for centuries.

Symbol of time, months, and romantic imagery

Where it comes from

Pictographic (象形文字): A crescent moon.

The ancient form was a crescent moon. Like 日, the curved shape was squared off for easier brush writing. The two horizontal lines inside originally depicted the patterns visible on the moon's surface.

To remember it: A squared-off crescent moon. The two inner lines are the craters you can see at night.

Its parts

月 Moon · Entire character

A pictograph of a crescent moon

Words with 月

月光 (げっこう, gekkou): moonlight
風月 (ふうげつ, fuugetsu): natural beauty
正月 (しょうがつ, shougatsu): New Year
満月 (まんげつ, mangetsu): full moon

Example sentences

今夜の月はきれいです。 Tonight's moon is beautiful.
月が出ました。 The moon has come out.
一月は一年の始まりです。 January is the start of the year.

Kanji that look like 月

肉 (meat): 肉 has two 人 strokes inside, while 月 has two horizontal lines
目 (eye): 月 is narrower and more curved, like a crescent moon

More from Nature's Poetry

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