KanjiSchool KanjiSchool
KanjiGrade 3 › 昭
Kyōiku Kanji

昭 — shining / Showa era

Grade 3しょう
Radical ⽇ · radical 72 The building block this kanji is filed under

昭 (readings: しょう; Japanese kanji) means “shining / Showa era”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 昭和 (Showa).

Try it now

What does 昭 mean?

Full details, readings & example
Kanji
Meaningshining / Showa era
Readingsしょう
GradeGrade 3 (Medium)
CurriculumKyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example昭和 (Showa)

How to read 昭

昭 is read しょう depending on the word.

Words with 昭

Learn 昭 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
Learn 昭 the way Japanese kids do Start free