何 — “what / how many” in Japanese

Grade 2か, なに, なん

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

“what / how many” in Japanese is 何, read ka, nani, nan (か, なに, なん). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 何時 (what time).

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What does 何 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	何
Meaning	what / how many
Readings	か, なに, なん
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	何時 (what time)

How to read 何

何 is read ka (か) or nani (なに) or nan (なん) depending on the word.

Words with 何

何年なんねん
何回なんかい
何度なんど
何倍なんばい
何十なんじゅう
何人なんにん
何時
何歳
如何
幾何学

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Kanji read the same way as 何

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Updated: 2026-08-28