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道Nihongo Path
凹

凹·concave, dent

On-yomi
オウ
Kun-yomi
へこ(む)ぼこ

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

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

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

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
凹凸おうとつunevenness
凹むへこむto dent, be discouraged
凹面鏡おうめんきょうconcave mirror
凸凹でこぼこbumpy, uneven

Example sentences

  1. 道路に凹凸があって走りにくい。

    どうろにおうとつがあってはしりにくい。

    The road is uneven and hard to drive on.

  2. 失敗して少し凹んでいる。

    しっぱいしてすこしへこんでいる。

    I'm a bit down after messing up.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • 凹凸 is おうとつ but 凸凹 is でこぼこ — the order changes the reading completely

Memory aid

Picture it

The character is a picture of itself: a block with a notch cut out of the top.

Vocabulary using this kanji

Quick check

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What does the kanji 凹 mean?