# 荒 — rough; wild

荒 means “rough; wild”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: コウ (kou). Kun'yomi: あ(らす) (arasu), あら(い) (arai). You'll see it in words such as 荒れる (areru, “to become stormy; to become rough”).

- Meaning: rough; wild
- On'yomi: コウ (kou)
- Kun'yomi: あ(らす) (arasu), あら(い) (arai)
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N2 · set Qualities 4

## How to remember 荒

Parts: 艹 grass · 亡 deceased · 川 river

## Words with 荒

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 荒れる | あれる (areru) | to become stormy; to become rough |
| 荒らす | あらす (arasu) | to lay waste; to devastate |
| 荒っぽい | あらっぽい (arappoi) | wild; violent |

## Don't confuse it with

[慌](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/panic/)

## More in the “Qualities 4” set

[仮](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/temporary/) · [純](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/genuine/) · [荒](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/rough/) · [硬](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/hard/) · [賢](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/wise/) · [柔](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/pliant/) · [濃](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/dense/)

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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/rough/. Last updated 2026-11-01.