# 際 — occasion; edge

際 means “occasion; edge”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 14 strokes. On'yomi: サイ (sai). Kun'yomi: きわ (kiwa). You'll see it in words such as 際 (sai, “occasion; time”).

- Meaning: occasion; edge
- On'yomi: サイ (sai)
- Kun'yomi: きわ (kiwa)
- Strokes: 14
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Time 1

## How to remember 際

The town (阝) at festival (祭) time: the occasion when everyone meets.

Sounds like 祭: both read サイ.

Parts: 阝 town; hill · 祭 festival

## Words with 際

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 際 | さい (sai) | occasion; time |
| に際して | にさいして (nisaishite) | on the occasion of; at the time of |
| 際して | さいして (saishite) | on the occasion of; at the time of |

## Don't confuse it with

[察](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/perceive/) · [擦](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/scrape/) · [祭](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/festival/)

## More in the “Time 1” set

[期](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/period/) · [続](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/continue/) · [初](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/first-time/) · [予](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/beforehand/) · [際](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/occasion/) · [昨](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/yesterday/) · [歳](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/years-old/)

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