午 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N5)
What it means
At its heart, 午 means noon — the middle of the day. In modern Japanese you'll almost never see it standing on its own; instead it works as a building block inside a handful of words about time. The two you truly need are 午前 (ごぜん, "morning / a.m.") and 午後 (ごご, "afternoon / p.m."), which literally mean "before noon" and "after noon." Once you anchor 午 to the idea of noon, those two split apart naturally: 前 ("before") gives you the morning, 後 ("after") gives you the afternoon.
You may also meet 午 in 正午 (しょうご, "noon" exactly), where 正 means "exact / correct" — so "the exact noon."
Readings
| Type | Reading | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| on'yomi | ゴ | 午前 (a.m.), 午後 (p.m.), 正午 (noon) |
| kun'yomi | (うま) | the zodiac sign "Horse" — historical, not used in everyday words |
Here 午 is unusually easy: it is essentially always read ゴ in the words you'll actually use. The reading うま ("Horse") comes from the old Chinese zodiac — 午 was the zodiac animal and time-of-day marker for the Horse — but you won't need it for everyday reading or for the JLPT word list. So if you see 午 in a word, reach for ゴ first.
Stroke order & radical
- Strokes: 4, written top to bottom. Think of it as the kanji 牛 ("cow") without the small top-left stroke: a short slanting stroke, a horizontal line, a long horizontal line, then the vertical stroke straight down through the middle.
- Radical: 午 is filed under the 十 ("ten") radical (じゅう), the cross shape you can see formed by the long horizontal and the vertical stroke. Spotting that cross is a handy way to remember the bottom half of the character.
A quick warning worth its own line: keep 午 (noon) apart from the very similar 牛 (cow). The difference is just that extra little stroke poking out the top-left of 牛 — small mark, completely different meaning.
Common words using 午
Notice the pattern: every one of these reads 午 as ゴ, and the whole family is built around "noon." 午前 = "before noon" (morning), 午後 = "after noon" (afternoon), and 午前中 adds 中 ("within") to mean "sometime during the morning." That tight little set is basically all you need.
Example sentences
ヤッタンは午前九時に起きます。
ヤッタンは ごぜん くじに おきます。
Yattan gets up at 9 a.m.
午前 — the on'yomi ゴ reading, meaning 'a.m.'
モチは午後から図書館で勉強します。
モチは ごごから としょかんで べんきょうします。
Mochi studies at the library from the afternoon.
午後 (ごご) = 'p.m. / afternoon' — the natural partner of 午前.
先生は「正午に会いましょう」と言いました。
せんせいは「しょうごに あいましょう」と いいました。
Sensei said, 'Let's meet at noon.'
正午 (しょうご) = 'noon exactly'; 午 is still read ゴ here.
Quick recap
- 午 = noon; 4 strokes; filed under the 十 ("ten") radical.
- It's read ゴ in essentially every word you'll use; there's no everyday kun reading (うま is the old zodiac "Horse").
- The must-know pair: 午前 (ごぜん, a.m.) vs 午後 (ごご, p.m.) — "before noon" vs "after noon."
- Don't confuse 午 (noon) with 牛 (cow): the difference is one tiny top-left stroke.
Your turn
Choose the correct reading of 午 in each word.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
How do you read 午 in 午前 and 午後?
It's the on'yomi ゴ in both: 午前 = ごぜん ('a.m. / morning') and 午後 = ごご ('p.m. / afternoon'). At N5, 午 is read ゴ in every word you'll meet.
What's the difference between 午前 and 午後?
午前 (ごぜん) literally means 'before noon' = morning / a.m., and 午後 (ごご) means 'after noon' = afternoon / p.m. The kanji 前 ('before') and 後 ('after') flip them around 午 (noon).
Does 午 have a kun'yomi I need to learn?
Not for everyday use. The reading うま ('Horse') comes from the old Chinese zodiac and is historical. For modern words and the JLPT, just remember ゴ.
How is 午 different from 牛 (cow)?
They look almost identical, but 牛 ('cow') has one extra short stroke poking out of the top-left. 午 ('noon') does not. Same shape otherwise, totally different meaning.