寸
寸 — Measurement
measurement, tenth of a shaku, a little, small
On’yomiスン (sun)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (3 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 寸
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 寸前 | すんぜん sunzen | just before; on the verge of; on the brink of |
| 寸断 | すんだん sundan | cutting to pieces; tearing to pieces |
| 寸法 | すんぽう sunpou | measurement; size; extent |
| 一寸 | いっすん issun | one sun (approx. 3 cm); little bit (of time, distance, etc.) |
| 寸劇 | すんげき sungeki | short play; skit |
| 寸 | すん sun | sun (approx. 3 cm); length; measurement |
Study notes
寸 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1669 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.