漢字Kanji · in Textiles, Plants & Food
若: young, if
Also: perhaps, possibly, low number, immature
艹 carries the meaning · 右 is drawn in
Bronze · Western Zhou Today
Bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Five readings, and the words that use each
ジャクjaku · on'yomi · in compounds
- 若年じゃくねんyouth
- 若干じゃっかんsome
- 若輩じゃくはいyoung person, novice
ニャクnyaku · on'yomi
- 老若男女ろうにゃくなんにょmen and women of all ages
わかいwakai · kun'yomi · on its own
- 若いわかいyoung
わか-waka- · kun'yomi
- 若者わかものyouth
- 若手わかてyoung person
もしmoshi · kun'yomi
- 若しももしもif
Also read ニャ, もしくわ, もしくは, ごとし, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Pictogram (象形)
A person combing their hair; obedient.
Source: Wiktionary, 若 (rev. 93432180), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Grass growing on top! Like a green crown upon the earth, this radical sits above kanji related to flowers, herbs, and vegetation.”
Connections
Also read ジャク
3 kanji share this on'yomiEasy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · ruò
Same form: 若 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 若 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 若 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin ruò most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.