墓

音読おんよみ:

訓読くんよみ: はか

画数かくすう: 13 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: 土(つち)

Meaning

Grave / Tomb / Burial Place

  • 墓地ぼち — cemetery
  • 墓参ぼさん — visiting a grave
  • 墓穴ぼけつ — grave hole / “digging one’s own grave”
  • 墓前ぼぜん — in front of a grave
  • 墓標ぼひょう — grave marker

墓 combines 土 (earth/soil) with 莫 (to cover/darkness), symbolizing something covered by soil. It naturally came to represent a grave or tomb — a place of burial and remembrance. The kanji is strongly tied to Japanese memorial traditions such as お盆 and 命日.

祖父そふはかはなそなえた。
I offered flowers at my grandfather’s grave.

ぼんには 家族かぞく墓参ぼさんきます。
We visit the family grave together during Obon.

地
Creates
墓地ぼち — cemetery
◀︎ Full List ▶︎