佐
佐 — Assistant
assistant, help
On’yomiサ (sa)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 佐
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 補佐 | ほさ hosa | aid; help; assistance |
| 大佐 | たいさ taisa | colonel; (navy) captain |
| 少佐 | しょうさ shousa | major; lieutenant commander; wing commander |
| 中佐 | ちゅうさ chuusa | lieutenant colonel; commander (navy) |
| 三佐 | さんさ sansa | major (JGSDF) |
| 二佐 | にさ nisa | lieutenant colonel (JGSDF) |
Study notes
佐 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #474 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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