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bear

JLPT N1 14 strokes
Kun'yomi
くま
On'yomi
ユウ
Radical
· fire (fire, heat)

熊 means "bear". It is a JLPT N1 kanji written in 14 strokes. It is read くま in native Japanese words (kun'yomi) and ユウ in compounds (on'yomi). It is taught beyond elementary school (junior high and up).

Stroke order & writing

Stroke-order and animation sources are on our credits page.

熊 in example sentences

  • くまた?

    Kuma o mita?

    Did you see the bear?

  • わたしくまこわい。

    Watashi wa kuma ga kowai.

    I'm afraid of bears.

  • くまのぼれる。

    Kuma wa ki ni noboreru.

    A bear can climb trees.

Example sentences from the Tatoeba Project, CC-BY 2.0 FR, licensed for reuse.

More (fire) kanji

Common questions

What does the kanji 熊 mean?
熊 means "bear". It is a JLPT N1 kanji.
How many strokes does 熊 have?
熊 is written in 14 strokes.
How is 熊 read?
It is read くま in native Japanese words (kun'yomi) and ユウ in compounds (on'yomi).
What JLPT level is 熊?
熊 is a JLPT N1 kanji.