方 — “direction / way” in Japanese

Grade 2ほう, かた

Radical ⽅ · radical 70 The building block this kanji is filed under

“direction / way” in Japanese is 方, read hou, kata (ほう, かた). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 方法 (method).

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What does 方 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	方
Meaning	direction / way
Readings	ほう, かた
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	方法 (method)

How to read 方

方 is read hou (ほう) or kata (かた) depending on the word.

Words with 方

地方ちほう
方針ほうしん
方向ほうこう
夕方ゆうがた
一方いっぽう
仕方しかた
方法ほうほう
方位ほうい
方位磁針ほういじしん
味方

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Kanji read the same way as 方

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28