九 — how to write the kanji for “nine”
九 is the number 9, a JLPT N5 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. With 2 strokes it is among the simplest kanji of N5. On its own it is the word kyuu, “nine; 9”. Read kyuu, it forms 十九 (“nineteen”), 九州 (“Kyūshū…”) and 九十 (“ninety”); the native reading kokono gives 九つ (“nine”) and 九重 (“ninefold”). Chinese reads it jiǔ, “nine”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 2
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 乙 (“second”)
- On
- キュウ, ク
- Kun
- ここの·つ, ここの
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
Its parts: 丿 (“slash”), stroke 1; 乙 (“second”, its radical), stroke 2, each finished before the next.
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdownwards → down and left
- Horizontal-turn-curve-hook ㇈leftrightwards → downwards → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 2 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
九 in dates and counts
- 九月 くがつ — September; ninth month of the lunar calendar
- 十九 じゅうきゅう — nineteen; 19
- 九州 きゅうしゅう — Kyūshū (southernmost of the four main islands of Japan)
- 九十 きゅうじゅう — ninety; 90
- 九九 くく — multiplication table; times table
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- キュウ kyuu, ク ku
- Kun (native)
- ここの·つ kokono-tsu, ここの kokono (rare)
- Meanings
- nine
- Read kyuu
- 十九 九州 九十 一一九番 千九百年代
- Read kokono
- 九つ 九重 九日
- Read ku
- 九月 九九
- School year
- first grade
- Newspaper rank
- 55th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 구 gu
- Common words
- 13 in JMdict
Words with 九
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 九月 | くがつ kugatsu | September; ninth month of the lunar calendar |
| 十九 | じゅうきゅう juukyuu | nineteen; 19 |
| 九州 | きゅうしゅう kyuushuu | Kyūshū (southernmost of the four main islands of Japan) |
| 九十 | きゅうじゅう kyuujuu | ninety; 90 |
| 九九 | くく kuku | multiplication table; times table |
| 一一九番 | ひゃくじゅうきゅうばん hyakujuukyuuban | 119… |
| 千九百年代 | せんきゅうひゃくねんだい senkyuuhyakunendai | the 1900s |
| 九つ | ここのつ kokonotsu | nine; nine years of age |
| 九重 | ここのえ kokonoe | ninefold; imperial palace |
| 九日 | ここのか kokonoka | 9th day of the month; nine days |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N5, in list order: