工 — “craft / worker” in Japanese

Grade 2こう, く

Radical ⼯ · radical 48 The building block this kanji is filed under

“craft / worker” in Japanese is 工, read kou, ku (こう, く). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 工場 (factory).

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What does 工 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	工
Meaning	craft / worker
Readings	こう, く
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	工場 (factory)

How to read 工

工 is read kou (こう) or ku (く) depending on the word.

Words with 工

工場こうじょう
人工じんこう
工夫くふう
人工衛星じんこうえいせい
工業

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Kanji read the same way as 工

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28