# 坊 — little boy; monk

坊 means “little boy; monk”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 7 strokes. On'yomi: ボウ (bou), ボッ (bo). It has no common kun'yomi. You'll see it in words such as 坊さん (bousan, “Buddhist priest; monk”).

- Meaning: little boy; monk
- On'yomi: ボウ (bou), ボッ (bo)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 7
- Level: JLPT N2 · set People & roles

## How to remember 坊

Parts: 土 earth · 方 direction; banner

## Words with 坊

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 坊さん | ぼうさん (bousan) | Buddhist priest; monk |
| 坊ちゃん | ぼっちゃん (botchan) | son; boy |
| お坊さん | おぼうさん (obousan) | Buddhist priest; monk |

## 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/little-boy/. Last updated 2026-11-01.