Kanji 午 - noon
Kanji 午 means noon. Onyomi readings are ゴ (go) . Kunyomi readings are うま (uma).
JLPT N5Grade 2
Stroke order animation (4 strokes)
Stroke Order Diagram
Each box shows the kanji up to that stroke. Red dot indicates stroke start point.
Readings of 午
音On'yomi (音読み)
ゴ(go)
訓Kun'yomi (訓読み)
うま(uma)
午 in different fonts
Vocabulary with 午
| Audio | English  | Romaji | Japanese | Kana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| morning (a.m.) | gozen | 午前 | ごぜん | |
| afternoon | gogo | 午後 | ごご |
Common words containing the kanji 午
More Information about 午
Common words with 午
- 午前（ごぜん, gozen）: A.M. / morning hours
- 午後（ごご, gogo）: P.M. / afternoon
- 正午（しょうご, shōgo）: noon (12:00)
- 午前中（ごぜんちゅう, gozenchū）: during the morning
- 午前零時（ごぜんれいじ, gozen reiji）: 12:00 a.m. / midnight
- 午年（うまどし, umadoshi）: Year of the Horse
Why does 午 mean Horse in the zodiac?
In the old 十二支（じゅうにし, jūnishi） system, 午 stands for the Horse (うま, uma) and marks the time 11:00–13:00 (around noon), and the south direction. That’s why 正午（しょうご, shōgo） means noon.
Useful patterns
- 午前10時（ごぜん じゅうじ, gozen jūji） = 10 a.m.
- 午後3時（ごご さんじ, gogo sanji） = 3 p.m.
- 会議は正午からです（かいぎは しょうご から です, kaigi wa shōgo kara desu） = The meeting starts at noon.
- 午前中に連絡します（ごぜんちゅう に れんらく します, gozenchū ni renraku shimasu） = I’ll contact you in the morning.
Look-alike alert: 午 vs 牛
午 and 牛（うし, ushi = cow） look similar. Tip: in 午, the top horizontal is shorter and the vertical feels more central; in 牛, the top line is longer and the shape looks more like a horned cow. Practice writing to fix the difference.
