Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

末: end, close

Also: tip, powder, posterity

JLPT N35 strokesGrade 4Your ink: 白 Not met
5 strokes

Three readings, and the words that use each

マツmatsu · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 末端まったんend, tip, extremity
  • 週末しゅうまつweekend
  • 月末げつまつend of the month
  • 年末ねんまつend-of-year
  • 結末けつまつend conclusion
  • 期末試験きまつしけんfinal exam
  • 粗末なそまつなcoarse, shabby
  • 末期的なまっきてきなdecadent, terminal, final
  • 始末するしまつするmanage, deal, settle

バツbatsu · on'yomi

  • 末子ばっしyoungest child

すえsue · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 末すえtop, end, tip
  • 末っ子すえっこyoungest child

Also read うら, うれ, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Ideogram (指事)

A tree (木) with its top highlighted with an extra stroke, implying the meaning of “apex”; contrast 本, 朱.

Source: Wiktionary, 末 (rev. 93469992), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Stand before a great, ancient tree and see 木! The vertical line is the sturdy trunk, the top strokes are branches reaching for the sunlight, and the bottom strokes are the roots gripping the earth.”
More in the 木 tree story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
木

Also built on tree (木)

All 124

Also read マツ

2 kanji share this on'yomi

Also read バツ

5 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
末 end
vs未 un-
Same parts, arranged differently.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · mò

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

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

Pinyin mò 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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