衛 — defend / guard

Grade 5えい

Radical ⾏ · radical 144 The building block this kanji is filed under

衛 (readings: えい; Japanese kanji) means “defend / guard”. It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 衛生 (hygiene).

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What does 衛 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	衛
Meaning	defend / guard
Readings	えい
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	衛生 (hygiene)

How to read 衛

衛 is read えい depending on the word.

Words with 衛

衛星えいせいvệ tinh
自衛隊じえいたいlực lượng tự vệ
人工衛星じんこうえいせいvệ tinh
衛生vệ sinh

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Updated: 2026-08-09