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Kanji for Kite

The kanji most commonly used for "Kite" are 凧、鳶.

Kanji that mean Kite

  • kite

    Also associated with bird of prey.

    Kunyomi: ikanobori, tako 5 strokes Jinmeiyō

  • kite, construction worker, firefighting tool

    Onyomi: en Kunyomi: tobi, tonbi 14 strokes Jinmeiyō

English uses one word for two unrelated things; Japanese does not. 凧 (tako) is the paper kite on a string. It is a kokuji, a character invented in Japan, which is why it has no Chinese-derived reading at all — only the native tako. 凧揚げ, kite-flying, is a New Year custom.

鳶 (tobi, or tonbi) is the bird: the black kite, the large raptor that circles over Japanese coastlines and is notorious for snatching food out of people’s hands. The character also names a trade — 鳶職, the scaffolders on construction sites, called tobi for the way they work at height. The proverb 鳶が鷹を生む, a kite gives birth to a hawk, describes ordinary parents producing a remarkable child.

Which character you want depends entirely on which English kite you meant. There is nothing that covers both.

Before you use Kite kanji

Decide which kite you mean before committing. 凧 is only the paper toy — harmless, but it reads as a child's plaything. 鳶 is the bird, and to a Japanese reader it also suggests a scaffolder or a scavenging bird rather than anything noble.

Other meanings to explore

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