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Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 7

road, way

Meaning
road, way
On reading
Kun reading
Memory hook

The road radical wrapped around 首 (head, neck): heading off down a road. ドウ in compounds, みち on its own. It is the 'do' in judo and kendo.

Words that use 道

road
calligraphy

How to write 道

Stroke order · 12 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
  1. 1 to 2. A short dot.
  2. 3. Horizontal.
  3. 4. A short dot.
  4. 5. Vertical.
  5. 6. Horizontal, then turn down.
  6. 7 to 9. Horizontal.
  7. 10. A short dot.
  8. 11. Horizontal, then turn down, then down to the right.
  9. 12. Horizontal.

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).

道 is taught on day 29 of the kanji course, alongside , with two writing passes and a short quiz.