[Day 12] 口 - mouth

Days 11-20

R-report

[Day 12] 口 - mouth

The character 口 originally depicts an open mouth or an opening and is one of the simplest kanji you’ll meet; it appears in words about mouths, openings (entrances/exits), and figurative "openings" like entrances to places or mouths of people. You’ll see it in everyday signs (入口/出口), in descriptions of people (口がうまい — "good at talking"), and in cosmetic vocabulary (口紅 — lipstick). Readings: On'yomi: コウ (kou), ク (ku) — common in compounds like 人口（じんこう jinkō, "population"). Kun'yomi: くち (kuchi) — the native reading meaning "mouth," used in words like 口（くち kuchi, "mouth"） and 口紅（くちべに kuchibeni, "lipstick"). Mnemonic tip: Think of 口 as a simple square you can imagine as an open mouth or a doorway — it's the "mouth/opening" box.

Readings

On'yomi: **コウ / ク** (kou / ku) Kun'yomi: **くち** (kuchi)

Related words

• 口（くち / kuchi） — mouth - **口**をあけてください。 (Kuchi o akete kudasai.) (Please open your mouth.)

• 入口（いりぐち / iriguchi） — entrance - **入口**はこちらです。 (Iriguchi wa kochira desu.) (The entrance is this way.)

• 出口（でぐち / deguchi） — exit - **出口**は右にあります。 (Deguchi wa migi ni arimasu.) (The exit is on the right.)

• 人口（じんこう / jinkō） — population - この町の**人口**は少し増えました。 (Kono machi no jinkō wa sukoshi fuemashita.) (The population of this town has increased a little.)

• 口紅（くちべに / kuchibeni） — lipstick - 彼女は赤い**口紅**をつけている。 (Kanojo wa akai kuchibeni o tsukete iru.) (She is wearing red lipstick.)