漢字Kanji · in Tools & Weapons
切: cut, cutoff
Also: be sharp
刀 carries the meaning · 七 gives the sound
Five readings, and the words that use each
セツsetsu · on'yomi · in compounds
- 切断するせつだんするcut
- 親切なしんせつなkind
- 大切なたいせつなimportant
- 切腹せっぷくseppuku, harakiri
サイsai · on'yomi
- 一切いっさいall
きるkiru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 切るきるcut
- 裏切るうらぎるbetray
きりkiri · kun'yomi
- 締め切りしめきりdeadline
-ぎれ-gire · kun'yomi
- 時間切れじかんぎれrun out of time
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 切符きっぷticket
Also read -きる, -きり, -ぎり, きれる, -きれる, きれ, -きれ, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)七 (sound) + 刀 knife (meaning)
Source: Wiktionary, 切 (rev. 93760805), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Sword radical + seven (phonetic/measure) = the act of using a sharp blade to slice through and measure out portions of something.”
Connections
Also read セツ
11 kanji share this on'yomiIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · qiè
Same form: 切 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 切 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 切 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin qiè most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.