# 側 — side

側 means “side”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. On'yomi: ソク (soku). Kun'yomi: がわ (gawa), かわ (kawa), そば (soba). You'll see it in words such as 側 (gawa, “side; part”).

- Meaning: side
- On'yomi: ソク (soku)
- Kun'yomi: がわ (gawa), かわ (kawa), そば (soba)
- Strokes: 11
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Size & position 2

## How to remember 側

The person (亻) standing right beside the rule (則): the side.

Sounds like 則: both read ソク.

Parts: 亻 person · 則 rule

## Words with 側

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 側 | がわ (gawa) | side; part |

## Don't confuse it with

[則](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/rule/) · [貸](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/lend/) · [測](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/gauge/) · [貨](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/currency/)

## More in the “Size & position 2” set

[側](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/side/) · [位](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/rank/) · [辺](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/vicinity/) · [横](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/sideways/) · [央](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/centre/)

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