車 — “car / vehicle” in Japanese

Grade 1しゃ, くるま

Radical ⾞ · radical 159 The building block this kanji is filed under

“car / vehicle” in Japanese is 車, read sha, kuruma (しゃ, くるま). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 電車 (train).

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What does 車 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	車
Meaning	car / vehicle
Readings	しゃ, くるま
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	電車 (train)

How to read 車

車 is read sha (しゃ) or kuruma (くるま) depending on the word.

Words with 車

電車でんしゃ
車両しゃりょう
自動車じどうしゃ
自転車じてんしゃ
収集車しゅうしゅうしゃ
糸車
汽車
車庫
車輪
駐車

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Kanji read the same way as 車

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28