窟 — “Cavern” in Japanese

Master (高手)くつ, こつ, いわや, いはや, あな

Radical ⽳ · radical 116 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Cavern” in Japanese is 窟, read kutsu, kotsu, iwaya (くつ, こつ, いわや, いはや, あな). 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 洞窟 (cave).

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What does 窟 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	窟
Meaning	Cavern
Readings	くつ, こつ, いわや, いはや, あな
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	洞窟 (cave)

How to read 窟

窟 is read kutsu (くつ) or kotsu (こつ) or iwaya (いわや) or ihaya (いはや) or ana (あな) depending on the word.

Words with 窟

洞窟

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Kanji read the same way as 窟

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

Updated: 2026-08-28