骨
骨 — Skeleton
skeleton, bone, remains, frame
On’yomiコツ (kotsu)
Kun’yomiほね (hone)
Stroke order (10 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 骨
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 骨 | ほね hone | bone; frame; outline |
| 骨髄 | こつずい kotsuzui | bone marrow; medulla; heart's core |
| 遺骨 | いこつ ikotsu | cremated remains (esp. the bones); ashes; remains (of war dead) |
| 骨格 | こっかく kokkaku | skeleton; skeletal structure; build |
| 骨子 | こっし kosshi | main point; gist; essentials |
| 鉄骨 | てっこつ tekkotsu | steel frame; steel beam; steel girder |
Study notes
骨 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #936 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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