化 — “to change / to transform” in Japanese

Grade 3か, け, ばけ

Radical ⼔ · radical 21 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to change / to transform” in Japanese is 化, read ka, ke, bake (か, け, ばけ). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 文化 (culture).

Try it now

What does 化 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	化
Meaning	to change / to transform
Readings	か, け, ばけ
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	文化 (culture)

How to read 化

化 is read ka (か) or ke (け) or bake (ばけ) depending on the word.

Words with 化

文化ぶんか
変化へんか
温暖化おんだんか
進化
浄化
化粧
異文化

Learn 化 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 →

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28