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KanjiGrade 5 › 衛
Kyōiku Kanji

衛 — defend / guard

Grade 5えい

衛 (readings: えい; Japanese kanji) means “defend / guard”. It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 衛生 (hygiene).

What does 衛 mean?

Kanji
Meaningdefend / guard
Readingsえい
GradeGrade 5 (Hard)
CurriculumKyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school

How to read 衛

衛 is read えい depending on the word.

Example words with 衛

Example衛生 (hygiene)
Practice writing 衛 — free
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Updated: 2026-07-14