異
異 — Uncommon
uncommon, different, queerness, strangeness, wonderful, curious
On’yomiイ (i)
Kun’yomiこと (koto)
Kun’yomiことなる (kotonaru)
Kun’yomiけ (ke)
Stroke order (11 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 異
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 異例 | いれい irei | exceptional; unusual; extraordinary |
| 異常 | いじょう ijou | abnormal; unusual; extraordinary |
| 異論 | いろん iron | different opinion; objection |
| 異議 | いぎ igi | objection; dissent; protest |
| 異質 | いしつ ishitsu | different (quality, nature); heterogeneous |
| 異動 | いどう idou | (personnel) change; transfer; relocation |
Study notes
異 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #631 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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