有 — “to have / to possess” in Japanese

Grade 3ゆう, う, あ

Radical ⽉ · radical 74 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to have / to possess” in Japanese is 有, read yuu, u, a (ゆう, う, あ). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 有名 (famous).

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What does 有 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	有
Meaning	to have / to possess
Readings	ゆう, う, あ
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	有名 (famous)

How to read 有

有 is read yuu (ゆう) or u (う) or a (あ) depending on the word.

Words with 有

有名ゆうめい
有害ゆうがい
有数ゆうすう

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Kanji read the same way as 有

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28