# 障 — obstacle; hinder

障 means “obstacle; hinder”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 14 strokes. On'yomi: ショウ (shou). Kun'yomi: さわ(る) (sawaru). You'll see it in words such as 障る (sawaru, “to be harmful to; to hinder”).

- Meaning: obstacle; hinder
- On'yomi: ショウ (shou)
- Kun'yomi: さわ(る) (sawaru)
- Strokes: 14
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Conflict & rivalry 2

## How to remember 障

Sounds like 章: both read ショウ.

Parts: 阝 town; hill · 章 chapter

## Words with 障

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 障る | さわる (sawaru) | to be harmful to; to hinder |

## Don't confuse it with

[章](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/chapter/) · [彰](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/commend/) · [暗](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/dark/) · [意](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/idea/)

## More in the “Conflict & rivalry 2” set

[障](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/obstacle/) · [闘](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/fight/) · [陣](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/battle-formation/) · [弾](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bullet/) · [射](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shoot/) · [衝](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/collide/) · [奪](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/snatch/) · [挑](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/challenge/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/obstacle/. Last updated 2026-11-01.