明 — bright / clear

Grade 2めい, みょう, あ, あか

Radical ⽇ · radical 72 The building block this kanji is filed under

明 (readings: めい, みょう, あ, あか; Japanese kanji) means “bright / clear”. It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 明日 (tomorrow).

Try it now

What does 明 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	明
Meaning	bright / clear
Readings	めい, みょう, あ, あか
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	明日 (tomorrow)

How to read 明

明 is read めい or みょう or あ or あか depending on the word.

Words with 明

明日あしたngày mai
表明ひょうめいtuyên bố
未明みめいrạng sáng
明治めいじthời Minh Trị
説明giải thích
証明chứng minh
明朗vui vẻ
透明trong suốt
賢明sáng suốt
明瞭rõ ràng

Learn 明 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