Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 1
八 eight
- Meaning
- eight
- On reading
- ハチ
- Kun reading
- やっ(つ)
Memory hook
Two short strokes spreading apart, like legs opening outward. It also carries the sense of splitting. ハチ in compounds, やっ(つ) when you are counting things.
Words that use 八
八つ
やっつ
eight things
八百
はっぴゃく
800
How to write 八
Stroke order · 2 strokes
1
2
- 1. The sweep down to the left.
- 2. 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).
八 is taught on day 3 of the kanji course, alongside 七 九 十, with two writing passes and a short quiz.