書 — how to write the kanji for “write”
書 (“write”) is a JLPT N5 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 169th most used kanji. Its Japanese stroke 5, a horizontal, is the 6th stroke in the Chinese order. KANJIDIC2 files it under the radical 曰 (“say”). Its common words take the reading sho: 書記 (“clerk”), 文書 (“document”), 秘書 (“(private) secretary”) and 報告書 (“report”). Mainland Chinese writes it 书 (shū, “book”), an HSK 1 character.
- Strokes
- 10
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 曰 (“say”)
- On
- ショ
- Kun
- か·く, -が·き, -がき
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Its parts sit stacked: 聿 (“brush”), strokes 1–6; 日 (“day”), strokes 7–10, each finished before the next.
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical ㇑bottom leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕bottom leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Two stroke orders
Japan and China order its strokes differently: 2 strokes sit in another place. Japanese 5 = Chinese 6; Japanese 6 = Chinese 5.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ショ sho
- Kun (native)
- か·く ka-ku, -が·き -ga-ki, -がき -gaki
- Meanings
- write
- Read sho
- 書記 文書 秘書 報告書 書店 白書
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 169th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 서 seo
- Common words
- 94 in JMdict
Words with 書
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 書記 | しょき shoki | clerk; secretary |
| 文書 | ぶんしょ bunsho | document; writing |
| 秘書 | ひしょ hisho | (private) secretary; treasured book |
| 報告書 | ほうこくしょ houkokusho | report |
| 書店 | しょてん shoten | bookshop; bookstore |
| 白書 | はくしょ hakusho | white paper (government report) |
| 著書 | ちょしょ chosho | work; book |
| 教科書 | きょうかしょ kyoukasho | textbook; coursebook |
| 書類 | しょるい shorui | document; papers |
| 読書 | どくしょ dokusho | reading (books) |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N5, in list order: