動 — how to write the kanji for “move”
動 means “move”, “motion” and “change”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is one of the hundred most used kanji (73rd). It starts with the left-falling sweep, before the horizontal that crosses it. On its own it is the word dou, “motion”. Read dou, it forms 活動 (“activity”), 行動 (“action”) and 運動 (“exercise”); the native reading ugo-ku gives 動き (“movement”). Mainland Chinese writes it 动 (dòng, “to move”), an HSK 2 character.
- Strokes
- 11
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 力 (“power”)
- On
- ドウ
- Kun
- うご·かす, うご·く
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Its parts sit side by side: 重 (“heavy”), strokes 1–9; 力 (“power”, its radical), strokes 10–11, each finished before the next.
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topleftwards
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Rising stroke ㇀bottom leftrightwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆centerrightwards → downwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top rightdownwards → down and left
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (11 strokes in Japanese, 11 strokes in Chinese).
The trap in 動
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)
- ドウ dou
- Kun (native)
- うご·かす ugo-kasu, うご·く ugo-ku (rare)
- Meanings
- move; motion; change; confusion; shift; shake
- Read dou
- 活動 行動 運動 自動車 動物 不動産
- Read ugo-ku
- 動き
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 73rd of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 동 dong
- Common words
- 86 in JMdict
Words with 動
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 動き | うごき ugoki | movement; move |
| 活動 | かつどう katsudou | activity; action |
| 行動 | こうどう koudou | action; conduct |
| 運動 | うんどう undou | exercise; physical training |
| 自動車 | じどうしゃ jidousha | car; automobile |
| 動物 | どうぶつ doubutsu | animal |
| 不動産 | ふどうさん fudousan | real estate |
| 動向 | どうこう doukou | trend; tendency |
| 変動 | へんどう hendou | change; fluctuation |
| 移動 | いどう idou | movement; transfer |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: