Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

是: just so, this

Also: right, justice

JLPT N19 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

日 carries the meaning · 疋 is drawn in

9 strokes

One reading, and the words that use it

ゼze · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 是正ぜせいcorrection; revision; redressing
  • 是非ぜひcertainly; without fail
  • 国是こくぜnational policy
  • 是非ともぜひともby all means; at all costs; absolutely
  • 是非是非ぜひぜひcertainly; by all means
  • 党是とうぜparty platform; party principles

Also read シ, これ, この, ここ, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
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成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“The life-giving sun in the sky! This simple box was once a perfect circle, representing the regular rising and setting of the sun that marks the rhythm of our lives.”
More in the 日 sun story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
日

Also built on sun (日)

All 70
疋

Also built on bolt of cloth (疋)

All 5

是 gives its sound to

The family reading is ダイ (dai). Sound parts: KanjiVG.

Also read シ

63 kanji share this on'yomiAll 63

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
是 just so · 日
vs定 determine · 宀
是 has 日 where 定 has 宀.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · shì

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

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

Pinyin shì 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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