Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People

督: coach, command

Also: urge, lead, supervise

JLPT N113 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

目 carries the meaning · 叔 gives the sound

13 strokes
  • Oracle bone · Shang
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Oracle bone and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

One reading, and the words that use it

トクtoku · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 監督かんとくsupervision; control; superintendence
  • 総督そうとくgovernor-general; governor; viceroy
  • 督促とくそくurge; demand; importunity
  • 提督ていとくadmiral; commodore
  • 家督かとくheir; successor
  • 舞台監督ぶたいかんとくstage director

Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Phono-semantic compound (形聲)叔 (sound) + 目 eye (meaning)

To look over, to oversee (with eyes).

Source: Wiktionary, 督 (rev. 93597148), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“See the world through this upright window! This is an eye standing tall.”
More in the 目 eye story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
叔

Also built on uncle (叔)

The 叔 family reads シュク (shuku); 督 is read トク.

目

Also built on eye (目)

All 24

Also read トク

8 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
督 coach · 目
vs寂 loneliness · 宀
督 has 目 where 寂 has 宀.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · dū

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

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

Pinyin dū 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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