太
太 — Plump
plump, thick, big around
On’yomiタイ (tai)
On’yomiタ (ta)
Kun’yomiふとい (futoi)
Kun’yomiふとる (futoru)
Stroke order (4 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 太
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 太平洋 | たいへいよう taiheiyou | Pacific Ocean |
| 皇太子 | こうたいし koutaishi | crown prince |
| 太陽 | たいよう taiyou | Sun |
| 太平洋戦争 | たいへいようせんそう taiheiyousensou | Pacific War (1941-1945) |
| 太鼓 | たいこ taiko | drum |
| 太陽電池 | たいようでんち taiyoudenchi | solar cell |
Study notes
太 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 4 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #552 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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