# 掌 — palm of the hand; govern

掌 means “palm of the hand; govern”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 12 strokes. On'yomi: ショウ (shou). Kun'yomi: てのひら (tenohira), たなごころ (tanagokoro). You'll see it in words such as 掌 (tenohira, “palm”).

- Meaning: palm of the hand; govern
- On'yomi: ショウ (shou)
- Kun'yomi: てのひら (tenohira), たなごころ (tanagokoro)
- Strokes: 12
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Body & health 3

## How to remember 掌

Sounds like 尚: both read ショウ.

Parts: 尚 esteem · 手 hand

## Words with 掌

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 掌 | てのひら (tenohira) | palm |

## Don't confuse it with

[堂](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/hall/) · [党](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/political-party/) · [常](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/always/) · [営](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/operate/)

## More in the “Body & health 3” set

[疫](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/epidemic/) · [癒](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/soothe/) · [尿](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/urine/) · [吐](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/spit/) · [尻](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/rear/) · [憩](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/take-a-break/) · [睡](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/slumber/) · [腎](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/kidney/) · [掌](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/palm-of-the-hand/)

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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/palm-of-the-hand/. Last updated 2026-11-01.