章 — “chapter / badge” in Japanese

Grade 3しょう

Radical ⾳ · radical 180 The building block this kanji is filed under

“chapter / badge” in Japanese is 章, read shou (しょう). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 文章 (passage).

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What does 章 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	章
Meaning	chapter / badge
Readings	しょう
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	文章 (passage)

How to read 章

章 is read shou (しょう) depending on the word.

Words with 章

文章
勲章

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Kanji read the same way as 章

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

Updated: 2026-08-28