動 — to move / motion

Grade 3どう, うご

Radical ⼒ · radical 19 The building block this kanji is filed under

動 (readings: どう, うご; Japanese kanji) means “to move / motion”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 運動 (exercise).

Try it now

What does 動 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	動
Meaning	to move / motion
Readings	どう, うご
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	運動 (exercise)

How to read 動

動 is read どう or うご depending on the word.

Words with 動

移動いどうdi chuyển
変動へんどうbiến động
感動かんどうcảm động
活動かつどうhoạt động
動物どうぶつđộng vật
運動うんどうvận động
自動じどうtự động
行動こうどうhành động
自動車じどうしゃô tô
準備運動じゅんびうんどうkhởi động

Learn 動 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 — 1,026 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-09