# 保 — preserve; maintain

保 means “preserve; maintain”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: ホ (ho). Kun'yomi: たも(つ) (tamotsu). You'll see it in words such as 保つ (tamotsu, “to keep; to preserve”).

- Meaning: preserve; maintain
- On'yomi: ホ (ho)
- Kun'yomi: たも(つ) (tamotsu)
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Doing & acting 1

## How to remember 保

A person (亻) keeps a mouth (口) fed and a tree (木) alive: preserve.

Parts: 亻 person · 口 mouth; box · 木 tree

## Words with 保

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 保つ | たもつ (tamotsu) | to keep; to preserve |

## Don't confuse it with

[休](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/rest/) · [体](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/body/) · [格](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/status/) · [倍](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/double/)

## More in the “Doing & acting 1” set

[定](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/determine/) · [選](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/choose/) · [決](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/decide/) · [調](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/look-into/) · [保](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/preserve/) · [活](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/activity/) · [得](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/gain/) · [査](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/inspect/) · [求](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/seek/)

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