事 — how to write the kanji for “matter”
事 means “matter”, “thing” and “fact”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is one of the hundred most used kanji (18th). KANJIDIC2 gives it 2 on readings and 3 kun readings, so the word decides how you say it. Its parts: 口 (“mouth”), strokes 2–4; ⺕, strokes 5–7; 亅 (“hook”, its radical), stroke 8, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word koto, “thing; matter”. Read ji, it forms 事件 (“event”), 事務 (“office work”) and 事実 (“fact”); the native reading koto gives 仕事 (“work”). Chinese reads it shì, “matter”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 8
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 亅 (“hook”)
- On
- ジ, ズ
- Kun
- こと, つか·う, つか·える
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Vertical hook ㇚topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ジ ji, ズ zu (rare)
- Kun (native)
- こと koto, つか·う tsuka-u (rare), つか·える tsuka-eru (rare)
- Meanings
- matter; thing; fact; business; reason; possibly
- Read ji
- 事件 事務 事実 事情 事態 事故
- Read koto
- 仕事
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 18th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 사 sa
- Common words
- 112 in JMdict
Words with 事
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 事件 | じけん jiken | event; affair |
| 事務 | じむ jimu | office work; clerical work |
| 事実 | じじつ jijitsu | fact; truth |
| 事情 | じじょう jijou | circumstances; conditions |
| 事態 | じたい jitai | situation; (present) state of affairs |
| 事故 | じこ jiko | accident; incident |
| 事業 | じぎょう jigyou | business; enterprise |
| 仕事 | しごと shigoto | work; job |
| 幹事 | かんじ kanji | executive secretary; coordinator |
| 時事 | じじ jiji | events of the day; current affairs |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: