足
足 — Leg
leg, foot, be sufficient, counter for pairs of footwear
On’yomiソク (soku)
Kun’yomiあし (ashi)
Kun’yomiたりる (tariru)
Kun’yomiたる (taru)
Kun’yomiたす (tasu)
Stroke order (7 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 足
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 足 | あし ashi | foot; paw; arm (of an octopus, squid, etc.) |
| 不足 | ふそく fusoku | insufficiency; deficiency; shortage |
| 発足 | ほっそく hossoku | starting; inauguration; launch |
| 満足 | まんぞく manzoku | satisfaction; contentment; gratification |
| 足並み | あしなみ ashinami | pace; step |
| 足元 | あしもと ashimoto | at one's feet; underfoot; one's step (as in "watch your step") |
Study notes
足 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #343 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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