姉 — how to write the kanji for “elder sister”
姉 (“elder sister”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. Its parts sit side by side: 女 (“woman”, its radical), strokes 1–3; 市 (“market”), strokes 4–8, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word ane, “older sister; elder sister”. Its common words take the reading shi: 姉妹 (“sisters”) and 義姉 (“sister-in-law…”).
- Strokes
- 8
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 女 (“woman”)
- On
- シ
- Kun
- あね, はは
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Left-falling then dot ㇛top leftdownwards → down and right
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
- Rising stroke ㇀leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆centerrightwards → downwards
- Vertical ㇑top rightdownwards
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- シ shi
- Kun (native)
- あね ane (rare), はは haha (rare)
- Meanings
- elder sister
- Read shi
- 姉妹 義姉
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 1473rd of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 자 ja
- Common words
- 5 in JMdict
Words with 姉
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 姉妹 | しまい shimai | sisters |
| 姉さん | ねえさん neesan | older sister; elder sister |
| 義姉 | ぎし gishi | sister-in-law (spouse's older sister or older brother's wife)… |
| 従姉妹 | いとこ itoko | cousin (female) |
| お姉さん | おねえさん oneesan | older sister; elder sister |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: