息
息 — Breath
breath, respiration, son, interest (on money), rest, coming to an end
On’yomiソク (soku)
Kun’yomiいき (iki)
Stroke order (10 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 息
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 息子 | むすこ musuko | son; penis |
| 息 | いき iki | breath; breathing; concord |
| 生息 | せいそく seisoku | inhabiting; living |
| 消息筋 | しょうそくすじ shousokusuji | informed circles |
| 利息 | りそく risoku | interest (on a loan, deposit etc.) |
| 消息 | しょうそく shousoku | news (from someone); letter; contact |
Study notes
息 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #882 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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