谷 means “valley”

たに · tani

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

たに, きわまる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コク

Taught in grade 2 · 7 strokes

The story

Hidden valleys shelter ancient villages, mist rising from deep gorges like spirits at dawn.

A common component in Japanese family names and place names

Its parts

• 八 Eight/divide · Top
• 口 Mouth/opening · Bottom

Mountains divide (八) to form an opening (口): a valley

Kanji that look like 谷

• 容 (contain / appearance): 容 puts 谷 under 宀 (roof): containing something in a valley

More from Nature's Poetry

• 竹 bamboo
• 草 grass
• 池 pond
• 砂 sand
• 滴 raindrop
• 霜 frost
• 露 dew
• 氷 ice
• 流 stream
• 沼 marsh
• 泉 spring
• 岸 shore

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

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