京 — “capital” in Japanese

Grade 2きょう, けい

Radical ⼇ · radical 8 The building block this kanji is filed under

“capital” in Japanese is 京, read kyou, kei (きょう, けい). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 東京 (Tokyo).

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What does 京 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	京
Meaning	capital
Readings	きょう, けい
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	東京 (Tokyo)

How to read 京

京 is read kyou (きょう) or kei (けい) depending on the word.

Words with 京

東京とうきょう
京都きょうと
東京都とうきょうと
東京都内とうきょうとない

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Kanji read the same way as 京

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28