Kanji N2

荒: laid waste, rough, rude

荒 is a JLPT N2 kanji meaning laid waste, rough, rude, written with 9 strokes. It is read コウ (on) and あらす, あれる, あらい (kun). It is one of the jōyō kanji taught in secondary school. You will see it in 荒い (あらい, rough) and 荒廃 (こうはい, ruin).

荒

Meanings

  • laid waste
  • rough
  • rude
  • wild
Strokes9
JLPT levelN2
School gradeSecondary school
Frequency#1099 of 2,500

On reading · Kun reading

On reading
  • コウ

On'yomi: from Chinese, written in katakana. Used in compound words.

Kun reading
  • あらす
  • あれる
  • あらい
  • すさぶ
  • すさむ
  • あらし

Kun'yomi: native Japanese, in hiragana. The faint part is the okurigana, written in kana after the kanji.

Watch the stroke order

Every stroke in order, the live one in vermilion. Replay as often as you like.

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Now draw it

Trace each stroke in order. Wrong direction or wrong order gets flagged right away.

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Your turn: draw stroke 1 of 9. Start at the dot.

Common words with 荒

The most useful words written with it, easiest first. Every other kanji in them opens its own page.

  • 荒いあらい

    rough; wild; violent; rude; coarse; harsh

    JLPT N2
  • 荒廃こうはい

    ruin; destruction; devastation; waste; decay

    JLPT N1
  • 荒らすあらす

    to lay waste; to devastate; to damage

    JLPT N1
  • 荒っぽいあらっぽい

    wild; violent; rough-mannered; rude

    JLPT N1
  • 荒木あらき

    logs in bark; rough wood; unseasoned timber

  • 荒波あらなみ

    raging waves; stormy seas

  • 荒れあれ

    stormy weather; tempest; chaps (of skin)

  • 荒野こうや

    wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie

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Stroke order from KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0. Readings, meanings and words from KANJIDIC2 and JMdict, names from JMnedict, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata, CC0. JLPT lists after Jonathan Waller (tanos.co.uk), CC BY.