話 — “to talk / story” in Japanese

Grade 2わ, はな

Radical ⾔ · radical 149 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to talk / story” in Japanese is 話, read wa, hana (わ, はな). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 会話 (conversation).

Try it now

What does 話 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	話
Meaning	to talk / story
Readings	わ, はな
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	会話 (conversation)

How to read 話

話 is read wa (わ) or hana (はな) depending on the word.

Words with 話

神話しんわ
会話
昔話
童話

Learn 話 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 話

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28