針 — “sewing needle / clock hand” in Japanese

Grade 6しん, はり

Radical ⾦ · radical 167 The building block this kanji is filed under

“sewing needle / clock hand” in Japanese is 針, read shin, hari (しん, はり). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 針金 (wire).

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What does 針 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	針
Meaning	sewing needle / clock hand
Readings	しん, はり
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	針金 (wire)

How to read 針

針 is read shin (しん) or hari (はり) depending on the word.

Words with 針

方針ほうしん
方位磁針ほういじしん
針金

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Kanji read the same way as 針

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

Read this character in a real sentence

🧲 磁石と方位磁針 Grade 6

Updated: 2026-08-28