Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 6
食 eat
- Meaning
- eat
- On reading
- ショク
- Kun reading
- た(べる)
Memory hook
A lid over 良 (good): a lid over something good, a covered dish. ショク in compounds, た(べる) on its own.
Words that use 食
食べる
たべる
to eat
食事
しょくじ
a meal
How to write 食
Stroke order · 9 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
- 1. The sweep down to the left.
- 2. The diagonal down to the right.
- 3. A short dot.
- 4. Horizontal, then turn down.
- 5 to 6. Horizontal.
- 7. Vertical, ending in a hook.
- 8. A short dot.
- 9. The diagonal down to the right.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
食 is taught on day 26 of the kanji course, alongside 飲 買, with two writing passes and a short quiz.