Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 9
手 hand
- Meaning
- hand
- On reading
- シュ
- Kun reading
- て
Memory hook
A wrist with the fingers laid across it. シュ in compounds, て on its own. 上手 jōzu, good at something.
Words that use 手
手
て
hand
上手
じょうず
skilled
How to write 手
Stroke order · 4 strokes
1
2
3
4
- 1. The sweep down to the left.
- 2 to 3. The horizontal across the middle.
- 4. The vertical through the centre, ending in a hook.
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).
手 is taught on day 30 of the kanji course, alongside 目 耳 口 足, with two writing passes and a short quiz.