起 — “to get up / to begin” in Japanese

Grade 3き, お, た

Radical ⾛ · radical 156 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to get up / to begin” in Japanese is 起, read ki, o, ta (き, お, た). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 起立 (to stand up).

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What does 起 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	起
Meaning	to get up / to begin
Readings	き, お, た
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	起立 (to stand up)

How to read 起

起 is read ki (き) or o (お) or ta (た) depending on the word.

Words with 起

起立
起伏
早起き

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Updated: 2026-08-28