Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

柱: pillar, post

Also: cylinder, support

JLPT N29 strokesGrade 3Your ink: 白 Not met

木 carries the meaning · 主 gives the sound

9 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

チュウchuu · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 石柱せきちゅうstone pillar
  • 円柱えんちゅうcolumn, shaft, cylinder
  • 電柱でんちゅうtelephone pole, light-pole

はしらhashira · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 柱はしらpillar, post
  • 柱時計はしらどけいwall clock
  • 大黒柱だいこくばしらcentral pillar, breadwinner

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

“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
主

Also built on lord (主)

柱 takes the 主 family's reading, チュウ (chuu).

Also read チュウ

18 kanji share this on'yomiAll 18

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
柱 pillar · 木
vs住 dwell · 亻
柱 has 木 where 住 has 亻.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · zhù

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

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

Pinyin zhù 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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