# 鳴 — chirp; ring

鳴 means “chirp; ring”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 14 strokes. On'yomi: メイ (mei). Kun'yomi: な(く) (naku). You'll see it in words such as 鳴らす (narasu, “to ring; to sound”).

- Meaning: chirp; ring
- On'yomi: メイ (mei)
- Kun'yomi: な(く) (naku)
- Strokes: 14
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Animals

## How to remember 鳴

A bird (鳥) with its mouth (口) open: it chirps.

Parts: 口 mouth; box · 鳥 bird

## Words with 鳴

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 鳴らす | ならす (narasu) | to ring; to sound |
| 鳴く | なく (naku) | to make sound; to call |
| 鳴る | なる (naru) | to sound; to ring |

## Don't confuse it with

[鳥](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/bird/)

## More in the “Animals” set

[象](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/elephant/) · [馬](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/horse/) · [羽](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/feather/) · [鹿](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/deer/) · [熊](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bear-animal/) · [鳴](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/chirp/) · [虫](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/insect/) · [猫](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/cat/) · [貝](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/shellfish/)

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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/n3-kanji/chirp/. Last updated 2026-11-01.