悪 — how to write the kanji for “bad”
悪 means “bad”, “vice” and “rascal”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. KANJIDIC2 gives it 2 on readings and 9 kun readings, so the word decides how you say it. Its parts sit stacked: 亜 (“Asia”), strokes 1–7; 心 (“heart”, its radical), strokes 8–11, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word aku, “evil; wickedness”. Its native reading waru-i leads in its common words, as in 悪さ (“badness”) and 悪口 (“(verbal) abuse”); read o it forms 憎悪 (“hatred”).
- Strokes
- 11
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 心 (“heart”)
- On
- アク, オ
- Kun
- わる·い, あ·し, -にく·い
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Dot ㇔bottom leftdownwards
- Flat slanted hook ㇃bottom leftdown and right → rightwards
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
- Dot ㇔rightdown and right
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- アク aku, オ o
- Kun (native)
- わる·い waru-i, あ·し a-shi, -にく·い -niku-i, わる- waru- (rare), にく·い niku-i (rare), ああ aa (rare), いずくに izukuni (rare), いずくんぞ izukunzo (rare), にく·む niku-mu (rare)
- Meanings
- bad; vice; rascal; false; evil; wrong
- Read waru-i
- 悪さ 悪口
- Read o
- 憎悪
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 530th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 악 ak
- Common words
- 40 in JMdict
Words with 悪
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悪化 | あっか akka | deterioration; getting worse |
| 最悪 | さいあく saiaku | worst; horrible |
| 悪質 | あくしつ akushitsu | malicious; vicious |
| 悪魔 | あくま akuma | devil; demon |
| 悪さ | わるさ warusa | badness; mean mischief |
| 悪口 | わるぐち waruguchi | (verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people |
| 悪夢 | あくむ akumu | nightmare; bad dream |
| 悪循環 | あくじゅんかん akujunkan | vicious circle; vicious cycle |
| 凶悪 | きょうあく kyouaku | atrocious; heinous |
| 憎悪 | ぞうお zouo | hatred; abhorrence |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: