血
血 — Blood
blood
On’yomiケツ (ketsu)
Kun’yomiち (chi)
Stroke order (6 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 血
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 血 | ち chi | blood; blood; ancestry |
| 血液 | けつえき ketsueki | blood |
| 出血 | しゅっけつ shukketsu | bleeding; haemorrhage; hemorrhage |
| 流血 | りゅうけつ ryuuketsu | bloodshed |
| 血圧 | けつあつ ketsuatsu | blood pressure |
| 血管 | けっかん kekkan | blood vessel; vein |
Study notes
血 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #832 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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