方 — direction / way

Grade 2ほう, かた

Radical ⽅ · radical 70 The building block this kanji is filed under

方 (readings: ほう, かた; Japanese kanji) means “direction / way”. It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 方法 (method).

Try it now

What does 方 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	方
Meaning	direction / way
Readings	ほう, かた
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	方法 (method)

How to read 方

方 is read ほう or かた depending on the word.

Words with 方

地方ちほうvùng, địa phương
方針ほうしんphương châm
方向ほうこうphương hướng
夕方ゆうがたchiều tối
一方いっぽうmặt khác
仕方しかたcách làm
方法ほうほうphương pháp
方位ほういphương hướng
方位磁針ほういじしんla bàn
味方đồng minh

Learn 方 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