大 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N5)
What it means
At its heart, 大 means big, large, great. The character is even shaped like the idea — picture a person standing with arms and legs stretched out wide to say "this big!" You'll meet 大 constantly: as a standalone adjective (大きい, "big") and as a building block inside loads of common words (大学 "university," 大切 "important," 大丈夫 "okay"). Whenever you see 大 in a word, there's usually a sense of "big, major, or great" hiding inside it.
Readings
| Type | Reading | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| kun'yomi | おお.きい | 大きい (big), 大きさ (size) |
| on'yomi | ダイ | 大学 (university), 大丈夫 (okay), 大好き (to love) |
| on'yomi | タイ | 大切 (important), 大変 (tough, very) |
Here's a useful pattern: the kun'yomi (おお.きい) shows up when the kanji stands more or less alone with a hiragana ending, while the on'yomi appears inside two-kanji compound words. So 大きい uses おお.きい, but 大学 uses ダイ.
There's one extra wrinkle with 大: it has two on'yomi, ダイ and タイ, and you simply have to learn which compound takes which. 大学 is だいがく, but 大切 is たいせつ. Don't worry — for N5 there are only a handful, and the words below cover them.
Stroke order & radical
- Strokes: 3. Write the long horizontal line first, then the left-falling stroke, then the right-falling stroke (一 → ノ → ＼). Just three quick strokes.
- Radical: 大 is its own radical, the "big" radical (だい). It sits at the top or bottom of several other kanji, often hinting at size or a stretched-out person. You'll see it inside 天 (heaven), 太 (thick/fat), and 犬 (dog — just one extra dot!).
That last one is worth a careful look: 大 (big) and 犬 (dog) differ only by a single dot. Don't lose the dot, and don't add one where it doesn't belong.
Common words using 大
Notice the reading split in action: lone-adjective 大きい takes おお.きい, while the compounds switch to an on'yomi — ダイ in 大学, 大丈夫, 大好き, and タイ in 大切. The one that breaks every rule is 大人 (おとな), an irregular reading you just memorize.
Example sentences
ヤッタンの犬はとても大きいです。
ヤッタンの いぬは とても おおきいです。
Yattan's dog is very big.
大きい — the kun'yomi おお.きい reading, used as a standalone adjective.
モチは来年、大学で日本語を勉強します。
モチは らいねん、だいがくで にほんごを べんきょうします。
Mochi will study Japanese at university next year.
大学 (だいがく) uses the on'yomi ダイ — the reading you see in compounds.
先生は「家族を大切にしてください」と言いました。
せんせいは「かぞくを たいせつに してください」と いいました。
Sensei said, Please treasure your family.
大切 (たいせつ) uses the other on'yomi, タイ. Same kanji, different on reading!
Quick recap
- 大 = big / large; just 3 strokes; it's the "big" radical itself.
- おお.きい when it stands alone (大きい); an on'yomi in compounds — ダイ (大学, 大丈夫, 大好き) or タイ (大切, 大変).
- 大人 is read おとな, a special irregular reading.
- Don't confuse 大 (big) with 犬 (dog) — the dog has one extra dot.
Your turn
Choose the correct reading of 大 in each word.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
How do you read 大 in 大きい vs 大学?
In 大きい it's the kun'yomi おお (大きい = おおきい, 'big'). In 大学 it's the on'yomi ダイ (大学 = だいがく, 'university'). As a rule, standalone adjectives take the kun'yomi and compounds take an on'yomi.
Why is 大 sometimes ダイ and sometimes タイ?
大 has two on'yomi. 大学 and 大好き use ダイ, while 大切 and 大変 use タイ. There's no shortcut — you learn which word takes which, but for N5 it's only a handful.
Why is 大人 read おとな?
大人 ('adult') is an irregular reading (jukujikago) where the kana doesn't match the usual on or kun readings of the individual kanji. Just memorize 大人 = おとな as a set.
How is 大 different from 犬?
They look almost identical: 大 means 'big' and 犬 means 'dog'. The only difference is the small dot in 犬. Be careful to write — and read — the dot correctly.