棋 — “Chess Piece / Japanese Chess / Shogi” in Japanese

Master (高手)き, ご

Radical ⽊ · radical 75 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Chess Piece / Japanese Chess / Shogi” in Japanese is 棋, read ki, go (き, ご). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 将棋 (shogi).

Try it now

What does 棋 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	棋
Meaning	Chess Piece / Japanese Chess / Shogi
Readings	き, ご
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	将棋 (shogi)

How to read 棋

棋 is read ki (き) or go (ご) depending on the word.

Words with 棋

将棋

Learn 棋 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Updated: 2026-08-28