特 — how to write the kanji for “special”
特 (“special”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in fourth grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 234th most used kanji. It starts with the left-falling sweep, before the horizontal that crosses it. Its common words take the reading toku: 特に (“particularly”), 特別 (“special”), 特徴 (“feature”) and 特定 (“specific”). Chinese reads it tè, “special”, at HSK 3.
- Strokes
- 10
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 牛 (“cow”)
- On
- トク
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Its parts sit side by side: 牛 (“cow”, its radical), strokes 1–4; 寺 (“Buddhist temple”), strokes 5–10, each finished before the next.
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Rising stroke ㇀bottom leftup and right
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Vertical hook ㇚rightdownwards
- Dot ㇔bottomdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 10 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
The trap in 特
Stroke 1 is the left-falling stroke and stroke 2 the horizontal, the same as in 右; 左 does the opposite.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- トク toku
- Kun (native)
- none
- Meanings
- special
- Read toku
- 特に 特別 特徴 特定 特捜 特殊
- School year
- fourth grade
- Newspaper rank
- 234th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 특 teuk
- Common words
- 41 in JMdict
Words with 特
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 特に | とくに tokuni | particularly; especially |
| 特別 | とくべつ tokubetsu | special; particular |
| 特徴 | とくちょう tokuchou | feature; trait |
| 特定 | とくてい tokutei | specific; particular |
| 特捜 | とくそう tokusou | special investigation |
| 特殊 | とくしゅ tokushu | special; particular |
| 特例 | とくれい tokurei | special case; exception |
| 独特 | どくとく dokutoku | peculiarity; uniqueness |
| 特使 | とくし tokushi | special envoy |
| 特集 | とくしゅう tokushuu | feature; special edition |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: