Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 3
左 left
- Meaning
- left
- On reading
- サ
- Kun reading
- ひだり
Memory hook
A hand over 工 (a ruler): the hand that steadies the ruler while the other one works. サ in compounds, ひだり on its own.
Words that use 左
左
ひだり
left
左手
ひだりて
left hand
How to write 左
Stroke order · 5 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
- 1. The horizontal across the top.
- 2. The sweep down to the left.
- 3. The horizontal across the middle.
- 4. The vertical through the centre.
- 5. The horizontal across the bottom.
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).
左 is taught on day 14 of the kanji course, alongside 右 東 西, with two writing passes and a short quiz.