# 極 — extreme; pole

極 means “extreme; pole”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 12 strokes. On'yomi: キョク (kyoku), ゴク (goku). Kun'yomi: きわ(める) (kiwameru). You'll see it in words such as 極める (kiwameru, “to carry to extremes; to go to the end of something”).

- Meaning: extreme; pole
- On'yomi: キョク (kyoku), ゴク (goku)
- Kun'yomi: きわ(める) (kiwameru)
- Strokes: 12
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Qualities 3

## How to remember 極

Parts: 木 tree · 二 two · 口 mouth; box · 又 hand; again

## Words with 極

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 極める | きわめる (kiwameru) | to carry to extremes; to go to the end of something |
| 極めて | きわめて (kiwamete) | exceedingly; extremely |
| 極まる | きわまる (kiwamaru) | to reach an extreme; to reach a limit |

## Don't confuse it with

[椅](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/chair/) · [疎](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/estranged/) · [桑](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/mulberry/) · [勅](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/imperial-decree/)

## More in the “Qualities 3” set

[違](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/differ/) · [独](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/alone/) · [準](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/standard/) · [被](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/incur/) · [若](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/young/) · [極](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/extreme/) · [美](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/beauty/) · [非](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/non/)

---

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