県 — “prefecture” in Japanese

Grade 3けん

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

“prefecture” in Japanese is 県, read ken (けん). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 県庁 (prefectural office).

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What does 県 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	県
Meaning	prefecture
Readings	けん
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	県庁 (prefectural office)

How to read 県

県 is read ken (けん) depending on the word.

Words with 県

各県かくけん
兵庫県ひょうごけん
県庁
茨城県
佐賀県
埼玉県
滋賀県
栃木県
岐阜県

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Kanji read the same way as 県

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28