Kanji quizzes for the joy of reading
How do you read 蛤 in Japanese?
A sea creature within two shells.
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Give the native reading for this edible bivalve clam.
HINTShow hint
A clam used in dishes such as clear soup. Four hiragana beginning with ha.
More on radicals and this quiz’s stroke counts
Describe the shapes you see
You do not need to know the radical’s name. Try these searches for this quiz’s characters.
insect radical beside 合
虫 and 合 name of a clam
insect radical 12 strokes clam beginning ha
These searches describe visual similarities, not formal radicals or character components.
蛤: 12 strokes; radical 虫 (insect). Distinguish informal descriptions of the shape from the dictionary radical.
蛤12 strokes / radical: 虫 (insect)
Stroke counts and radicals follow the Japanese dictionary Kanjipedia; other dictionaries may differ.
ANSWERShow answerHide answer
The answer is
はまぐり
hamaguri
蛤
Understand the meaning
English translationHamaguri clam
A kind of bivalve clam, also used as food. The word appears in coastal descriptions and writing about meals.
See it in a sentence
夕食には、蛤の入った温かいお吸い物が出た。Dinner included warm clear soup with hamaguri clams.
A way to remember
The character combines 虫 and 合. Here the insect radical belongs to a word for a shellfish, not an insect.
Sources：Kanjipedia: 蛤
The explanation draws on the sources below. Examples were written for this page.
Explore the word further
Connect the word to a meal
Expressions such as 蛤の吸い物 and 蛤を煮る place it at the table. Linking the character with the shell or dish can make the name easier to recall.
例：台所から蛤の吸い物の香りが漂い、家族が食卓に集まった。
The aroma of clam soup drifted from the kitchen as the family gathered at the table.
A radical is not a biological classification
The radical helps locate the character in a dictionary; it does not classify the animal as an insect. Likewise, a shell illustration is a learning aid, not evidence of the character’s origin.
References for this explanation：Kanjipedia: 蛤
Explanation checked on 2026-10-25. Additional examples were written by DuraRing for this page.
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