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央
Kyōiku Kanji

央 — “center” in Japanese

Grade 3おう
Radical ⼤ · radical 37 The building block this kanji is filed under

“center” in Japanese is 央, read ou (おう). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 中央 (center).

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What does 央 mean?

Full details, readings & example
Kanji央
Meaningcenter
Readingsおう
GradeGrade 3 (Medium)
CurriculumKyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example中央 (center)

How to read 央

央 is read ou (おう) depending on the word.

Words with 央

  • 中央ちゅうおう
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Kanji read the same way as 央

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

Updated: 2026-08-28
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