New Year 正月
shōgatsu2 characters9 strokes
正月 (shōgatsu) means the New Year: the first month of the year, and especially the first days of January when people celebrate its arrival.
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Meaning 意味
What 正月 means
The Japanese word for New Year, written with 2 kanji and read shōgatsu.
Shōgatsu is the first month of the year. In particular, it means the start of January, when people in Japan welcome and celebrate the new year. It is often said with the polite prefix o, as oshōgatsu.
When people write it in Japan. In Japan, shōgatsu is a common word for kakizome, the first calligraphy of the New Year, and for practice in January. Both characters have few strokes, so it is a friendly word if you are new to the brush.
Both kanji are taught in 1st grade in Japan.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 正月
Three things to watch
- 正 has three horizontal strokes. Make the bottom one the longest, so it forms the base of the character.
- Bring the 2nd stroke of 正, a vertical, straight down the center of the character. Keep the 4th stroke, also a vertical, short.
- In 月, sweep the 1st stroke down to the left, and end the 2nd stroke with a flick up to the upper left. Space the two inner horizontal strokes evenly.
Stroke order
Follow the vermilion stroke, frame by frame.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
How to practice 練習
Trace first, then copy
- PrintPrint both pages at actual size, on US Letter or A4. Page 1 is the model. Page 2 is the tracing sheet.
- TraceTrace the outlines with a brush pen. Or lay thin hanshi paper over the page and trace with brush and ink.
- CopySet the model beside your paper and copy it stroke by stroke. Look at the model more than at your own paper.
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