船 — “ship / boat” in Japanese

Grade 2せん, ふね

Radical ⾈ · radical 137 The building block this kanji is filed under

“ship / boat” in Japanese is 船, read sen, fune (せん, ふね). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 船乗り (sailor).

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What does 船 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	船
Meaning	ship / boat
Readings	せん, ふね
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	船乗り (sailor)

How to read 船

船 is read sen (せん) or fune (ふね) depending on the word.

Words with 船

風船
船舶
帆船
船乗り

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Kanji read the same way as 船

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28