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銀 — how to write the kanji for “silver”

銀 (“silver”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 395th most used kanji. Its parts sit side by side: 金 (“gold”, its radical), strokes 1–8; 艮 (“northeast (Oriental zodiac)”), strokes 9–14, each finished before the next. Its 14 strokes make it one of the longest to write at N4. On its own it is the word gin, “silver (Ag); silver (color)”. Its common words take the reading gin: 銀行 (“bank”), 銀座 (“Ginza (district in Tokyo)”), 日本銀行 (“Bank of Japan”) and 世界銀行 (“World Bank”). Mainland Chinese writes it 银 (yín, “silver”), an HSK 3 character.

Strokes
14
JLPT
N4
Radical
金 (“gold”)
On
ギン
Kun
しろがね

Stroke by stroke

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  1. Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
  2. Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
  3. Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
  4. Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
  5. Vertical ㇑leftdownwards
  6. Dot ㇔leftdown and right
  7. Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdown and left
  8. Rising stroke ㇀bottom leftup and right
  9. Horizontal-turn ㇕toprightwards → downwards
  10. Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
  11. Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
  12. Vertical-rising ㇙topdownwards → up and right
  13. Left-falling stroke ㇒rightdown and left
  14. Right-falling stroke ㇏centerdown and right

Japanese and Chinese

The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (14 strokes in Japanese, 14 strokes in Chinese).

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Japanese · KanjiVG · 14 strokes
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Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 14 strokes

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Readings

On (Chinese-derived)
ギン gin
Kun (native)
しろがね shirogane (rare)
Meanings
silver
Read gin
銀行 銀座 日本銀行 世界銀行 世銀 水銀
School year
third grade
Newspaper rank
395th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
Korean hanja
은 eun
Common words
14 in JMdict

On and kun, explained

Words with 銀

WordReadingMeaning
銀行ぎんこう ginkoubank; banking institution
銀座ぎんざ ginzaGinza (district in Tokyo); busy shopping district
日本銀行にっぽんぎんこう nipponginkouBank of Japan; BOJ
世界銀行せかいぎんこう sekaiginkouWorld Bank
世銀せぎん seginWorld Bank
水銀すいぎん suiginmercury (Hg)
銀河ぎんが gingaMilky Way; galaxy
輸銀ゆぎん yuginimport-export bank
相互銀行そうごぎんこう sougoginkoumutual savings bank
銀色ぎんいろ gin'irosilver (color, colour)

Most common first (JMdict).

Practice sheet

Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.

Keep going

JLPT N4, in list order: