敵 — “enemy” in Japanese

Grade 5てき, かたき

Radical ⽁ · radical 66 The building block this kanji is filed under

“enemy” in Japanese is 敵, read teki, kataki (てき, かたき). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 敵国 (enemy country).

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What does 敵 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	敵
Meaning	enemy
Readings	てき, かたき
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	敵国 (enemy country)

How to read 敵

敵 is read teki (てき) or kataki (かたき) depending on the word.

Words with 敵

敵国
敵対
匹敵

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Kanji read the same way as 敵

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

Updated: 2026-08-28