変 — “change / strange” in Japanese

Grade 4へん, か

Radical ⼢ · radical 35 The building block this kanji is filed under

“change / strange” in Japanese is 変, read hen, ka (へん, か). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 変化 (change).

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What does 変 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	変
Meaning	change / strange
Readings	へん, か
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	変化 (change)

How to read 変

変 is read hen (へん) or ka (か) depending on the word.

Words with 変

変動へんどう
変化へんか
大変たいへん
変遷

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Kanji read the same way as 変

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Updated: 2026-08-28