業 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N4)
What it means
At its heart, 業 is about work, occupations, and studies — the kinds of effort that fill a life. You'll meet it most often as a building block inside two-kanji compounds: 授業 ("a class/lesson"), 卒業 ("graduation"), 工業 ("industry"), 産業 ("industry"), 営業 ("business, sales"), and 残業 ("overtime"). Notice the two big families: one cluster is about studies (授業, 卒業) and the other about business and industry (工業, 産業, 営業). Whenever you spot 業 in a new word, you can bet it has something to do with working or studying — a handy head start on the meaning.
Readings
| Type | Reading | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| on'yomi | ギョウ | 授業 (class), 卒業 (graduation), 工業 (industry), 営業 (business) |
| on'yomi | ゴウ | 業 (ごう, karma) — rare, mostly Buddhist |
| kun'yomi | わざ | 仕業 (しわざ, deed/act) — rare |
Here's a rule of thumb that works for most kanji, not just this one: the on'yomi appears inside two-kanji compound words, and for 業 that on'yomi is almost always ギョウ. The kun'yomi わざ and the alternate on'yomi ゴウ show up only in a handful of special words, so you can safely treat ギョウ as your default and learn the rare ones as exceptions when you meet them.
Stroke order & radical
- Strokes: 13, written top to bottom — build the busy top section first (the rows of short strokes), then anchor it with the wide horizontal line and the tree-like 木 shape at the bottom.
- Radical: the official radical is 木 (き, "tree"), which sits at the very bottom of the character. The top of 業 is a dense stack of strokes, so a good approach is to count the horizontals carefully and finish with the steady 木 base that keeps the whole kanji balanced.
Recognizing the 木 foot at the bottom gives you a reliable landmark: write the crowded top neatly, then plant the tree underneath and you've got it.
Common words using 業
Notice the reading at work: every single compound here takes ギョウ — 授業, 卒業, 工業, 産業, 営業, 残業. That consistency is the good news with 業: master ギョウ and you can read the vast majority of words that contain it.
Example sentences
ヤッタンは今日の授業をぜんぶ聞いた。
ヤッタンは きょうの じゅぎょうを ぜんぶ きいた。
Yattan listened to all of today's classes.
授業 — the on'yomi ギョウ reading, the most common one.
モチは大学を卒業して、営業の仕事を始めた。
モチは だいがくを そつぎょうして、えいぎょうの しごとを はじめた。
Mochi graduated from university and started a job in sales.
Two ギョウ words in one sentence: 卒業 (graduation) and 営業 (sales).
先生は「あれは神業だね」とヤッタンの弟をほめた。
せんせいは「あれは かみわざだね」と ヤッタンの おとうとを ほめた。
Sensei praised Yattan's little brother, saying, That was a superhuman feat.
神業 (かみわざ) uses the rare kun'yomi わざ — 'deed, act, feat'.
Quick recap
- 業 = business / work / vocation / studies; 13 strokes; radical is 木 (tree).
- ギョウ is the main reading and covers nearly every compound: 授業, 卒業, 工業, 産業, 営業, 残業.
- The kun'yomi わざ (仕業, 神業) and the on'yomi ゴウ (業 = karma) are both rare — learn them as exceptions.
Your turn
Choose the correct reading of 業 in each word.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
How do you read 業 in 授業 and 卒業?
Both use the on'yomi ギョウ: 授業 = じゅぎょう ('class/lesson') and 卒業 = そつぎょう ('graduation'). ギョウ is by far the most common reading of 業.
How many strokes does 業 have?
業 has 13 strokes. Its radical is 木 (tree), which forms the base at the bottom of the character.
When is 業 read ゴウ or わざ?
Both are rare. ゴウ appears mainly in the Buddhist word 業 (ごう, 'karma'), and the kun'yomi わざ shows up in words like 仕業 (しわざ, 'deed') and 神業 (かみわざ, 'superhuman feat'). For N4, focus on ギョウ first.
What kinds of words use 業?
Mostly two families: studies (授業 'class', 卒業 'graduation') and business/industry (工業 'industry', 産業 'industry', 営業 'sales', 残業 'overtime'). Spotting 業 hints the word is about working or studying.