足 — how to write the kanji for “leg”
足 means “leg”, “foot” and “be sufficient”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 343rd most used kanji. As one of the 214 traditional radicals it heads 154 kanji in KANJIDIC2. On its own it is the word ashi, “foot; paw”. Its native reading ashi leads in its common words, as in 足並み (“pace”) and 足元 (“at one's feet”); read soku it forms 不足 (“insufficiency”). Chinese reads it zú, “sufficient”, at HSK 2.
- Strokes
- 7
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 足 (“leg”)
- On
- ソク
- Kun
- あし, た·りる, た·る
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Its parts sit stacked: 口 (“mouth”), strokes 1–3; 龰, strokes 4–7, each finished before the next.
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒leftdown and left
- Right-falling stroke ㇏bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 7 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ソク soku
- Kun (native)
- あし ashi, た·りる ta-riru, た·る ta-ru (rare), た·す ta-su (rare)
- Meanings
- leg; foot; be sufficient; counter for pairs of footwear
- Read ashi
- 足並み 足元 手足 足跡 出足 足場
- Read soku
- 不足 発足 満足
- School year
- first grade
- Newspaper rank
- 343rd of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 족 jok
- Common words
- 41 in JMdict
Words with 足
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不足 | ふそく fusoku | insufficiency; deficiency |
| 発足 | ほっそく hossoku | starting; inauguration |
| 満足 | まんぞく manzoku | satisfaction; contentment |
| 足並み | あしなみ ashinami | pace; step |
| 足元 | あしもと ashimoto | at one's feet; underfoot |
| 手足 | てあし teashi | hands and feet; limbs |
| 足跡 | あしあと ashiato | footprints; record of page visitors |
| 出足 | であし deashi | turnout; start |
| 足場 | あしば ashiba | scaffold; scaffolding |
| 足取り | あしどり ashidori | gait; walk |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: