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道Nihongo Path
幕

幕·curtain, act (of a play), shogunate

On-yomi
マクバク
Kun-yomi
none

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

Write it in this order; the numbers mark where each stroke starts.

13 strokes, numbered in writing order. Data: KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
幕府ばくふshogunate
開幕かいまくopening (of an event or season)
字幕じまくsubtitles
幕末ばくまつthe end of the Edo shogunate

Example sentences

  1. その映画は字幕付きで見た。

    そのえいがはじまくつきでみた。

    I watched that film with subtitles.

  2. 江戸幕府は約二百六十年続いた。

    えどばくふはやくにひゃくろくじゅうねんつづいた。

    The Edo shogunate lasted about two hundred and sixty years.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing the two readings: curtains and acts take マク (開幕, 字幕), history takes バク (幕府, 幕末)
  • Writing 墓府 for 幕府

Memory aid

Picture it

莫 (a covering) over 巾 (cloth): a big cloth hung to screen something off — the general's field tent, which gave the shogunate its name.

Vocabulary using this kanji

Quick check

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What does the kanji 幕 mean?