並 — “parallel / to line up” in Japanese

Grade 6へい, なみ, なら

Radical ⼀ · radical 1 The building block this kanji is filed under

“parallel / to line up” in Japanese is 並, read hei, nami, nara (へい, なみ, なら). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 並列 (parallel).

Try it now

What does 並 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	並
Meaning	parallel / to line up
Readings	へい, なみ, なら
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	並列 (parallel)

How to read 並

並 is read hei (へい) or nami (なみ) or nara (なら) depending on the word.

Words with 並

並列
杉並木

Learn 並 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 並

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28