西 — “west” in Japanese

Grade 2せい, さい, にし

Radical ⾑ · radical 146 The building block this kanji is filed under

“west” in Japanese is 西, read sei, sai, nishi (せい, さい, にし). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 西洋 (the West).

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What does 西 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	西
Meaning	west
Readings	せい, さい, にし
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	西洋 (the West)

How to read 西

西 is read sei (せい) or sai (さい) or nishi (にし) depending on the word.

Words with 西

南西なんせい
南西部なんせいぶ
西洋
西暦

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Kanji read the same way as 西

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Updated: 2026-08-28