省 — “save / ministry” in Japanese

Grade 4せい, しょう, はぶ

Radical ⽬ · radical 109 The building block this kanji is filed under

“save / ministry” in Japanese is 省, read sei, shou, habu (せい, しょう, はぶ). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 省エネ (energy saving).

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What does 省 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	省
Meaning	save / ministry
Readings	せい, しょう, はぶ
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	省エネ (energy saving)

How to read 省

省 is read sei (せい) or shou (しょう) or habu (はぶ) depending on the word.

Words with 省

省略
省エネsave / ministry

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Kanji read the same way as 省

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Updated: 2026-08-28