Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Structures & Home

郷: home town, village

Also: native place, district

JLPT N111 strokesGrade 6Your ink: 白 Not met

⻏ carries the meaning · 卿 gives the sound

11 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

キョウkyou · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 郷里きょうりbirth-place, home town
  • 郷土きょうどnative place, birth-place
  • 郷愁きょうしゅうnostalgia, homesickness
  • 故郷こきょうhome town, native place
  • 同郷どうきょうfrom the same birthplace
  • 望郷ぼうきょうhomesickness, nostalgia
  • 愛郷心あいきょうしんlove of one's hometown
  • 帰郷するききょうするreturn to one's home

ゴウgou · on'yomi

  • 近郷きんごうneighboring districts

Also read さと, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Two groups of people meeting over food + village (⻏). The place where people gather to share a meal and a shared history—your "hometown."”
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered

郷 gives its sound to

The family reading is キョウ (kyou). Sound parts: KanjiVG.

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
郷 home town · 卿
vs郎 son · 良
郷 has 卿 where 郎 has 良.
In ChineseSimplified 乡 · traditional 鄕 · xiāng

Three different forms: Japanese 郷, simplified 乡, traditional 鄕.

Simplified
乡 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
鄕 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin xiāng 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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