却
却 — Instead
instead, on the contrary, rather, step back, withdraw, retreat
On’yomiキャク (kyaku)
Kun’yomiかえって (kaette)
Kun’yomiしりぞく (shirizoku)
Kun’yomiしりぞける (shirizokeru)
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 却
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 売却 | ばいきゃく baikyaku | selling off; disposal by sale; sale |
| 冷却 | れいきゃく reikyaku | cooling; refrigeration; cooling down (of a political conflict, etc.) |
| 償却 | しょうきゃく shoukyaku | repayment; redemption; depreciation |
| 焼却 | しょうきゃく shoukyaku | incineration; destruction by fire |
| 脱却 | だっきゃく dakkyaku | ridding oneself; freeing oneself of; growing out of |
| 棄却 | ききゃく kikyaku | rejection; dismissal; turning down |
Study notes
却 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #959 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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