51
午
Noon
JLPT N5
Interesting Fact
Kanji 午 originally referred to the Horse zodiac sign. In the traditional East Asian zodiac system, every two-hour period of the day was assigned an animal. The period from roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. belonged to the Horse, which is why noon is still written using this kanji today.
Memory Trick
The shape looks like a bell mounted on a pole. When it rings, everyone knows it's noon and time for lunch. That's 午.
Readings
Onyomi: ゴ (go)
Kunyomi:
Example Words
午前
ごぜん (gozen)
AM, before noon
午後
ごご (gogo)
PM, afternoon
正午
しょうご (shougo)
Noon
午睡
ごすい (gosui)
Nap
Example Sentence
会議は午後一時です。
かいぎ は ごご いちじ です。
kaigi wa gogo ichiji desu
The meeting is at 1 PM.