夏 — Summer

Meaning

夏 means summer — the hottest of Japan's four seasons. It belongs alongside 春 (spring), 秋 (autumn), and 冬 (winter) as one of the four essential seasonal kanji. You'll encounter it constantly: in weather forecasts, calendar dates, event names, and everyday conversation.

The character traces back to oracle bone script, where it depicted a person performing a grand ceremonial dance. A large figure with an elaborate headdress, arms outstretched, legs stomping in the heat. Over centuries of stylization, that vivid image compressed into the compact modern form.

In Japan, 夏 brings a packed cultural calendar — festivals (祭り), fireworks (花火), Obon, school holidays, and relentless heat and humidity. Learning this kanji gives you immediate access to a full season's worth of vocabulary.

夏 has 10 strokes and is taught in elementary school Grade 2, so Japanese children encounter it around age 7–8. Its radical is 夂, associated with the movement of legs. The top strokes form a horizontal frame; the lower strokes descend like legs, giving the character a grounded, stable appearance.

Readings

On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings

夏 has two on'yomi: カ and ゲ. Both come from ancient Chinese pronunciations and appear mainly in formal compounds or set phrases, not in casual speech.

カ (ka) is the more common on'yomi:

• 夏季かき (kaki) — the summer season; used in formal contexts, e.g. 夏季休暇 (summer vacation)
• 夏期かき (kaki) — summer period; seen in 夏期講習 (summer intensive course)

ゲ (ge) appears in one key compound:

• 夏至げし (geshi) — the summer solstice; the longest day of the year in the traditional Japanese calendar

Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings

The kun'yomi なつ (natsu) is how Japanese people say "summer" in everyday speech — far more common than the on'yomi.

• 夏なつ (natsu) — summer
• 夏休みなつやすみ (natsuyasumi) — summer vacation; one of the most anticipated phrases in any Japanese student's year
• 夏祭りなつまつり (natsumatsuri) — summer festival; a core event in Japanese community life
• 夏服なつふく (natsufuku) — summer clothing
• 真夏まなつ (manatsu) — midsummer; used for the most intense period of summer heat

Common Words & Compounds

夏 shows up across seasonal nature, daily routines, food, and formal writing. Below are key vocabulary grouped by theme.

Seasonal & Nature Terms

• 夏なつ (natsu) — summer
• 真夏まなつ (manatsu) — midsummer, height of summer
• 夏至げし (geshi) — summer solstice
• 夏季かき (kaki) — summer season (formal)
• 夏空なつぞら (natsuzora) — summer sky

Daily Life & Events

• 夏休みなつやすみ (natsuyasumi) — summer vacation
• 夏祭りなつまつり (natsumatsuri) — summer festival
• 夏服なつふく (natsufuku) — summer clothing
• 夏場なつば (natsuba) — summertime, the summer period
• 夏物なつもの (natsumono) — summer goods

Food & Health

• 夏野菜なつやさい (natsuyasai) — summer vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant)
• 夏なつバテ (natsubate) — summer fatigue; the drained, sluggish feeling from prolonged heat and humidity

Example Sentences

Related Kanji

• 春 — Spring (Kanji N4)
• 物 — Thing, Object, Matter (Kanji N4)
• 太 — Fat, Thick, Great (Kanji N4)
• 有 — To Have, To Exist (Kanji N4)
• 秋 — Autumn / Fall (Kanji N4)
• 田 — Rice Field (Kanji N4)

Memory Tip

Picture a ceremonial dancer under a blazing summer sun — tall feathered headdress, arms spread wide, feet pounding the earth. Ancient scribes had exactly that image in mind when they first wrote 夏. The top of the character is the headdress and head, the middle strokes are outstretched arms, and the bottom strokes are the dancer's stomping legs. Next time you see 夏, place that dancer at a 夏祭り — arms wide, legs moving, sun overhead. The movement and heat of the dance match the energy of Japanese summer: loud, colorful, full of life. For Vietnamese learners, the Hán-Việt reading HẠ connects directly through the shared Sino-Vietnamese tradition.