Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People

掘: dig, delve

Also: excavate

JLPT N211 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

扌 carries the meaning · 屈 gives the sound

11 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

クツkutsu · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 掘削するくっさくするdig out, excavate
  • 発掘するはっくつするexcavate, unearth, exhume
  • 採掘するさいくつするmine [v.t.]

ほるhoru · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 掘るほるdig, excavate
  • 掘り下げるほりさげるdig down, delve into
  • 掘り返すほりかえすdig up, turn up, tear up
  • 掘り出し物ほりだしものgood buy, bargain, treasure

Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.

  • 露天堀りろてんぼりopen air strip mining

Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Imagine a hand reaching out from the left to grab, hold, or shape the world! When you see these three strokes, think of a hand in motion.”
More in the 扌 hand story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
扌

Also built on hand (扌)

All 88
屈

Also built on yield (屈)

掘 takes the 屈 family's reading, クツ (kutsu).

Also read クツ

3 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
掘 dig · 扌
vs堀 ditch · 土
掘 has 扌 where 堀 has 土.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · jué

Same form: 掘 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
掘 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
掘 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin jué most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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