客 — “guest / customer” in Japanese

Grade 3きゃく, かく

Radical ⼧ · radical 40 The building block this kanji is filed under

“guest / customer” in Japanese is 客, read kyaku, kaku (きゃく, かく). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 観客 (spectator).

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What does 客 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	客
Meaning	guest / customer
Readings	きゃく, かく
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	観客 (spectator)

How to read 客

客 is read kyaku (きゃく) or kaku (かく) depending on the word.

Words with 客

観客かんきゃく
乗客じょうきゃく
観光客かんこうきゃく
見物客けんぶつきゃく
顧客
お客様

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Kanji read the same way as 客

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28