# 彼 — he; boyfriend

彼 means “he; boyfriend”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 8 strokes. On'yomi: ヒ (hi). Kun'yomi: かれ (kare), かの (kano). You'll see it in words such as 彼ら (karera, “they; them”).

- Meaning: he; boyfriend
- On'yomi: ヒ (hi)
- Kun'yomi: かれ (kare), かの (kano)
- Strokes: 8
- Level: JLPT N2 · set People & roles

## How to remember 彼

Sounds like 皮: both read ヒ.

Parts: 彳 stepping · 皮 skin

## Words with 彼

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 彼ら | かれら (karera) | they; them |
| 彼 | かれ (kare) | he; him |

## Don't confuse it with

[皮](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/skin/) · [被](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/incur/) · [波](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/wave/) · [疲](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/tired/)

## More in the “People & roles” set

[将](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/commander/) · [彼](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/he/) · [老](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/elderly/) · [徒](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/follower/) · [仲](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/relationship/) · [坊](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/little-boy/) · [俺](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/i-men-casual/)

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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/n2-kanji/he/. Last updated 2026-11-01.