Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 9
西 west
- Meaning
- west
- On reading
- セイ
- Kun reading
- にし
Memory hook
A bird settling into its nest as the sun goes down. セイ in compounds, にし on its own.
Words that use 西
西
にし
west
関西
かんさい
the Kansai region
How to write 西
Stroke order · 6 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
- 1. The horizontal across the top.
- 2. The vertical on the left.
- 3. Horizontal across the middle, then turn down on the right side.
- 4. The vertical on the left.
- 5. Vertical, then turn across to the right.
- 6. 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).
西 is taught on day 14 of the kanji course, alongside 左 右 東, with two writing passes and a short quiz.