導 — “guide / lead” in Japanese

Grade 5どう, みちび

Radical ⼨ · radical 41 The building block this kanji is filed under

“guide / lead” in Japanese is 導, read dou, michibi (どう, みちび). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 指導 (guidance).

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What does 導 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	導
Meaning	guide / lead
Readings	どう, みちび
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	指導 (guidance)

How to read 導

導 is read dou (どう) or michibi (みちび) depending on the word.

Words with 導

導入どうにゅう
指導

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Kanji read the same way as 導

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Updated: 2026-08-28