球 — “ball / sphere” in Japanese

Grade 3きゅう, たま

Radical ⽟ · radical 96 The building block this kanji is filed under

“ball / sphere” in Japanese is 球, read kyuu, tama (きゅう, たま). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 地球 (the Earth).

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What does 球 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	球
Meaning	ball / sphere
Readings	きゅう, たま
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	地球 (the Earth)

How to read 球

球 is read kyuu (きゅう) or tama (たま) depending on the word.

Words with 球

地球ちきゅう
野球やきゅう
球場きゅうじょう
球児きゅうじ
籠球

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Kanji read the same way as 球

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28