秋 — how to write the kanji for “autumn”
秋 (“autumn”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. It starts with the left-falling sweep, before the horizontal that crosses it. On its own it is the word aki, “autumn; fall”. Read shuu, it forms 今秋 (“this autumn”), 昨秋 (“autumn of last year”) and 春秋 (“spring and autumn”); the native reading aki gives 秋口 (“beginning of autumn”) and 秋風 (“autumn breeze”). Chinese reads it qiū, “autumn”, at HSK 3.
- Strokes
- 9
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 禾 (“two-branch tree radical”)
- On
- シュウ
- Kun
- あき, とき
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Its parts sit side by side: 禾 (“two-branch tree radical”, its radical), strokes 1–5; 火 (“fire”), strokes 6–9, each finished before the next.
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒leftdown and left
- Dot ㇔leftdown and right
- Dot ㇔centerdownwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top rightdown and left
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdownwards → down and left
- Right-falling stroke ㇏centerdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 9 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
The trap in 秋
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)
- シュウ shuu
- Kun (native)
- あき aki, とき toki (rare)
- Meanings
- autumn
- Read shuu
- 今秋 昨秋 春秋 千秋楽 秋季 春夏秋冬
- Read aki
- 秋口 秋風 秋晴れ
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 635th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 추 chu
- Common words
- 10 in JMdict
Words with 秋
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今秋 | こんしゅう konshuu | this autumn; this fall |
| 昨秋 | さくしゅう sakushuu | autumn of last year; fall of last year |
| 春秋 | しゅんじゅう shunjuu | spring and autumn; spring and fall |
| 千秋楽 | せんしゅうらく senshuuraku | final day of a performance; closing date |
| 秋季 | しゅうき shuuki | fall season; autumn season |
| 秋口 | あきぐち akiguchi | beginning of autumn; beginning of fall |
| 秋風 | あきかぜ akikaze | autumn breeze; fall breeze |
| 秋晴れ | あきばれ akibare | clear autumnal weather |
| 春夏秋冬 | しゅんかしゅうとう shunkashuutou | spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; the four seasons |
| 秋分 | しゅうぶん shuubun | autumnal equinox; autumn equinox |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: