星 — “star” in Japanese

Grade 2せい, しょう, ほし

Radical ⽇ · radical 72 The building block this kanji is filed under

“star” in Japanese is 星, read sei, shou, hoshi (せい, しょう, ほし). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 星空 (starry sky).

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What does 星 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	星
Meaning	star
Readings	せい, しょう, ほし
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	星空 (starry sky)

How to read 星

星 is read sei (せい) or shou (しょう) or hoshi (ほし) depending on the word.

Words with 星

火星かせい
星空ほしぞら
衛星えいせい
人工衛星じんこうえいせい
恒星
北斗七星

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Kanji read the same way as 星

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28