犬 — “dog” in Japanese

Grade 1けん, いぬ

Radical ⽝ · radical 94 The building block this kanji is filed under

“dog” in Japanese is 犬, read ken, inu (けん, いぬ). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 子犬 (puppy).

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What does 犬 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	犬
Meaning	dog
Readings	けん, いぬ
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	子犬 (puppy)

How to read 犬

犬 is read ken (けん) or inu (いぬ) depending on the word.

Words with 犬

子犬

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Kanji read the same way as 犬

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28