動 — “to move / motion” in Japanese

Grade 3どう, うご

Radical ⼒ · radical 19 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to move / motion” in Japanese is 動, read dou, ugo (どう, うご). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 運動 (exercise).

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What does 動 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	動
Meaning	to move / motion
Readings	どう, うご
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	運動 (exercise)

How to read 動

動 is read dou (どう) or ugo (うご) depending on the word.

Words with 動

移動いどう
変動へんどう
感動かんどう
活動かつどう
動物どうぶつ
運動うんどう
自動じどう
行動こうどう
自動車じどうしゃ
準備運動じゅんびうんどう

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Kanji read the same way as 動

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28