砲 — “Cannon / Gun” in Japanese

Master (高手)ほう

Radical ⽯ · radical 112 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Cannon / Gun” in Japanese is 砲, read hou (ほう). 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 大砲 (cannon).

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What does 砲 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	砲
Meaning	Cannon / Gun
Readings	ほう
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	大砲 (cannon)

How to read 砲

砲 is read hou (ほう) depending on the word.

Words with 砲

大砲

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Kanji read the same way as 砲

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

Updated: 2026-08-28