首
首 — Neck
neck, counter for songs and poems
On’yomiシュ (shu)
Kun’yomiくび (kubi)
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 首
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 首相 | しゅしょう shushou | prime minister; chancellor (Germany, Austria, etc.); premier |
| 首脳 | しゅのう shunou | head; leader; top |
| 首都 | しゅと shuto | (national) capital (city); metropolis |
| 党首 | とうしゅ toushu | party leader |
| 首都圏 | しゅとけん shutoken | Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area; metropolitan area (of a capital) |
| 首 | くび kubi | neck; head; dismissal (from a job) |
Study notes
首 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #98 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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