# 害 — harm; damage

害 means “harm; damage”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. On'yomi: ガイ (gai). It has no common kun'yomi. You'll see it in words such as 害 (gai, “injury; harm”).

- Meaning: harm; damage
- On'yomi: ガイ (gai)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 10
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Conflict & rivalry 1

## How to remember 害

Under the roof (宀), the king's (王) mouth (口) gives the order, and harm comes.

Parts: 宀 roof · 王 king · 口 mouth; box

## Words with 害

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 害 | がい (gai) | injury; harm |
| 害する | がいする (gaisuru) | to injure; to damage |

## Don't confuse it with

[割](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/split/) · [喫](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/consume/)

## More in the “Conflict & rivalry 1” set

[戦](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/war/) · [勝](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/win/) · [軍](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/army/) · [争](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/compete/) · [防](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/defend/) · [害](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/harm/)

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