柱
柱 — Pillar
pillar, post, cylinder, support
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
Kun’yomiはしら (hashira)
Stroke order (9 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 柱
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 柱 | はしら hashira | pillar; post; support |
| 支柱 | しちゅう shichuu | prop; stay; support |
| 大黒柱 | だいこくばしら daikokubashira | central pillar (of a building); mainstay (e.g. of an economy); backbone (e.g. of a family) |
| 電柱 | でんちゅう denchuu | utility pole; power pole; telephone pole |
| 円柱 | えんちゅう enchuu | column; shaft; cylinder |
| 火柱 | ひばしら hibashira | pillar of fire; blazing column |
Study notes
柱 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1119 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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