音読み: ホウ
訓読み: —
画数: 10
部首: いしへん（石）
Meaning
Cannon / Gun / Artillery.
- 砲 — cannon; artillery
- 大砲 — large cannon; artillery gun
- 砲弾 — artillery shell
- 砲撃 — artillery fire; bombardment
- 砲火 — gunfire; cannon fire
- 祝砲 — celebratory gun salute
- 空砲 — blank shot (no projectile)
- 鉄砲 — gun; firearm
石 (stone) on the left gives the idea of a hard projectile; on the right, 包 acts as a sound hint for ホウ. Think of a device that wraps an explosion and hurls a stone far — that’s a 砲.
Link 砲 to 包 (wrap): a wrapped blast launching a hard stone. The sound from 包 gives ホウ, and the radical 石 anchors the meaning “cannon / artillery.”
Combat
砲弾 — artillery shell