Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

朽: decay, rot

Also: remain in seclusion

JLPT N16 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

木 carries the meaning · 丂 gives the sound

6 strokes

One reading, and the words that use it

キュウkyuu · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 老朽ろうきゅうinfirmity (due to old age); decrepitude
  • 不朽ふきゅうeverlasting; immortal; eternal
  • 腐朽ふきゅうdecay; deterioration; rot

Also read くちる, 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

“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
丂

Also built on 丂

The 丂 family reads コウ (kou); 朽 is read キュウ.

Also read キュウ

28 kanji share this on'yomiAll 28

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
朽 decay · 丂
vs本 book
朽 adds 丂.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · xiǔ

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

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

Pinyin xiǔ 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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