味 — how to write the kanji for “flavor”
味 (“flavor” and “taste”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 442nd most used kanji. Its parts sit side by side: 口 (“mouth”, its radical), strokes 1–3; 未 (“un-”), strokes 4–8, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word aji, “flavor; flavour”. Read mi, it forms 意味 (“meaning”), 興味 (“interest”) and 趣味 (“hobby”); the native reading aji gives 持ち味 (“inherent flavor”) and 味わい (“flavour”). Chinese reads it wèi, “taste”, at HSK 4.
- Strokes
- 8
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 口 (“mouth”)
- On
- ミ
- Kun
- あじ·わう, あじ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdown and left
- Right-falling stroke ㇏centerdown and right
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)
- ミ mi
- Kun (native)
- あじ·わう aji-wau, あじ aji (rare)
- Meanings
- flavor; taste
- Read mi
- 意味 興味 趣味 気味 味方 地味
- Read aji
- 持ち味 味わい
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 442nd of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 미 mi
- Common words
- 41 in JMdict
Words with 味
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 意味 | いみ imi | meaning; significance |
| 興味 | きょうみ kyoumi | interest; curiosity (about something) |
| 趣味 | しゅみ shumi | hobby; pastime |
| 気味 | きみ kimi | sensation; feeling |
| 持ち味 | もちあじ mochiaji | inherent flavor; inherent flavour |
| 味方 | みかた mikata | friend; ally |
| 地味 | じみ jimi | plain; simple |
| 味わい | あじわい ajiwai | flavour; flavor |
| 意味合い | いみあい imiai | implication; nuance |
| 三味線 | しゃみせん shamisen | shamisen; samisen |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: