漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
支: branch, support
Also: sustain, branch radical (no. 65)
十 and 又 are drawn in
Small seal · Qin Today
Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two readings, and the words that use each
シshi · on'yomi · in compounds
- 支店してんbranch store
- 支社ししゃbranch office
- 支出ししゅつexpenditure
- 収支しゅうしincome and expenditure
- 支払うしはらうpay [v.t.]
- 支持するしじするsupport [v.t.]
- 支援するしえんするsupport, aid [v.t.]
- 支度するしたくするprepare
- 支配するしはいするrule, control
- 支給するしきゅうするprovide, pay
ささえるsasaeru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 支えるささえるsupport, prop up
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 差し支えるさしつかえるbe hindered [v.i.]
Also read つかえる, かう, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)又 hand + 竹 (half of 竹) branch of bamboo, as 十
A branch.
Source: Wiktionary, 支 (rev. 93754635), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“The base kanji for support and branching, used in everything from "branch offices" to the act of "supporting" a friend.”
Connections
支 gives its sound to
The family reading is シ (shi). Sound parts: KanjiVG.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · zhī
Same form: 支 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 支 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 支 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin zhī most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.