形 — “shape / form” in Japanese

Grade 2けい, ぎょう, かたち

Radical ⼺ · radical 59 The building block this kanji is filed under

“shape / form” in Japanese is 形, read kei, gyou, katachi (けい, ぎょう, かたち). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 形 (shape).

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What does 形 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	形
Meaning	shape / form
Readings	けい, ぎょう, かたち
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	形 (shape)

How to read 形

形 is read kei (けい) or gyou (ぎょう) or katachi (かたち) depending on the word.

Words with 形

三角形

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Kanji read the same way as 形

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28