Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

壁: wall, lining (stomach)

Also: fence

JLPT N116 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

土 carries the meaning · 辟 gives the sound

16 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

ヘキheki · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 障壁しょうへきenclosing wall; boundary fence
  • 壁画へきがfresco; mural; wall painting
  • 外壁がいへきouter wall
  • 壁面へきめんsurface of a wall
  • 岸壁がんぺきquay; wharf; jetty

かべkabe · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 壁かべwall; partition

Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Imagine a cross planted firmly in the ground—that's 土! It shows a stake or a seedling marking the earth, reminding us of farming, construction, and the solid foundation upon which we build our lives and cities.”
More in the 土 earth story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
辟

Also built on 辟

壁 takes the 辟 family's reading, ヘキ (heki).

土

Also built on earth (土)

All 61

Also read ヘキ

3 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
壁 wall · 土
vs避 evade · ⻌
壁 has 土 where 避 has ⻌.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · bì

Same form: 壁 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
壁 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
壁 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin bì most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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