亀 means “turtle”

かめ · kame

Also: tortoise

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

かめ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キ, キュウ, キン

Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

In Japan, the turtle lives 10,000 years, a symbol of longevity alongside the crane. Stone 亀 statues guard shrine paths, carrying the wisdom of ages on their ancient shells.

Used in 亀裂 (kiretsu, crack/fissure): the shell pattern inspires the meaning

More from Animals & Creatures

• 猿 monkey
• 鯨 whale
• 狐 fox
• 蛙 frog
• 犬 dog
• 猫 cat
• 牛 cow
• 馬 horse
• 虫 insect
• 羊 sheep
• 豚 pig
• 鹿 deer

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

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