細
細 — Dainty
dainty, get thin, taper, slender, narrow, detailed
On’yomiサイ (sai)
Kun’yomiほそい (hosoi)
Kun’yomiほそる (hosoru)
Kun’yomiこまか (komaka)
Kun’yomiこまかい (komakai)
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 細
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 細胞 | さいぼう saibou | cell; cell (in an organization, esp. a communist party) |
| 細かい | こまかい komakai | small; fine; minute |
| 詳細 | しょうさい shousai | details; particulars; specifics |
| 細かく | こまかく komakaku | minutely; finely |
| 細菌 | さいきん saikin | bacterium; bacteria; germ |
| 細部 | さいぶ saibu | details; particulars |
Study notes
細 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #537 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.