岸 — “shore / coast” in Japanese

Grade 3がん, きし

Radical ⼭ · radical 46 The building block this kanji is filed under

“shore / coast” in Japanese is 岸, read gan, kishi (がん, きし). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 海岸 (seashore).

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What does 岸 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	岸
Meaning	shore / coast
Readings	がん, きし
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	海岸 (seashore)

How to read 岸

岸 is read gan (がん) or kishi (きし) depending on the word.

Words with 岸

川岸かわぎし
海岸
沿岸

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Kanji read the same way as 岸

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Updated: 2026-08-28