午 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

午: noon; sign of the horse. JLPT N5; 4 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ゴ

Kun readings

—

Romaji

go

Study notes

午 indicates noon and is the seventh sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Horse.

On reading: ゴ in 午前 (ごぜん, morning, a.m.), 午後 (ごご, afternoon, p.m.), 正午 (しょうご, exactly noon), 午前中 (ごぜんちゅう, in the morning), 端午 (たんご, the May 5 festival, today Children's Day), 子午線 (しごせん, meridian).

As a zodiacal sign it is read うま: 午年 (うまどし, Horse year).

Remember: in the traditional system the Horse hour fell at noon; from this 午前 (before noon) and 午後 (after noon). 午 should not be confused with 牛 (うし, ox), in which the vertical stroke extends upward.

Example words

• 午後 (ごご) — afternoon; p.m.
• 午前 (ごぜん) — morning; a.m.

Example sentences

午後三時に会います。

gogo sanji ni aimasu.

I'll see you at three in the afternoon.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.