今 — how to write the kanji for “now”
今 (“now”) is a JLPT N5 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. In newspapers it is one of the hundred most used kanji (49th). Its parts: 人 (“person”, its radical), strokes 1–2; 一 (“one”), stroke 3, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word ima, “now; the present time”. Its common words take the reading kon: 今回 (“this time”), 今後 (“from now on”), 今月 (“this month”) and 今季 (“this season”). Chinese reads it jīn, “now”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 4
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 人 (“person”)
- On
- コン, キン
- Kun
- いま
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
- Right-falling stroke ㇏topdown and right
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal then left-falling ㇇leftrightwards → down and left
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 4 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- コン kon, キン kin (rare)
- Kun (native)
- いま ima
- Meanings
- now
- Read kon
- 今回 今後 今月 今季 今度 今春
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 49th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 금 geum
- Common words
- 36 in JMdict
Words with 今
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今回 | こんかい konkai | this time; now |
| 今年 | ことし kotoshi | this year |
| 今後 | こんご kongo | from now on; hereafter |
| 今月 | こんげつ kongetsu | this month |
| 今季 | こんき konki | this season |
| 今度 | こんど kondo | this time; now |
| 今日 | きょう kyou | today; this day |
| 今春 | こんしゅん konshun | this spring; spring this year |
| 今年度 | こんねんど konnendo | this year; this fiscal year |
| 今週 | こんしゅう konshuu | this week |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N5, in list order: