建 — “build” in Japanese

Grade 4けん, た

Radical ⼵ · radical 54 The building block this kanji is filed under

“build” in Japanese is 建, read ken, ta (けん, た). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 建物 (building).

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What does 建 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	建
Meaning	build
Readings	けん, た
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	建物 (building)

How to read 建

建 is read ken (けん) or ta (た) depending on the word.

Words with 建

再建さいけん
建設けんせつ
建物たてもの
建築
建坪

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Kanji read the same way as 建

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28