Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Textiles, Plants & Food

薄: dilute, thin

Also: weak (tea), pampas grass

JLPT N216 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

艹 carries the meaning · 溥 gives the sound

16 strokes
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Six readings, and the words that use each

ハクhaku · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 薄給はっきゅうsmall salary, low wages
  • 薄利多売はくりたばいsmall profits & quick returns
  • 薄弱なはくじゃくなfeeble, weak
  • 薄情なはくじょうなheartless, cold-hearted, cruel
  • 軽薄なけいはくなfrivolous, superficial
  • 希薄なきはくなrarefied, diluted, sparse, weak

うすいusui · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 薄いうすいthin, weak, diluted [adj.]

うすめるusumeru · kun'yomi

  • 薄めるうすめるdilute, water down [v.t.]

うすまるusumaru · kun'yomi

  • 薄まるうすまるbecome weak (color, taste) [v.i.]

うすらぐusuragu · kun'yomi

  • 薄らぐうすらぐbecome thin, fade [v.i.]

うすれるusureru · kun'yomi

  • 薄れるうすれるfade, become dim [v.i.]

Also read うす-, -うす, うすら-, すすき, 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

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.”
More in the 艹 grass story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
艹

Also built on grass (艹)

All 74
溥

Also built on 溥

薄 takes the 溥 family's reading, ハク (haku).

Also read ハク

9 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
薄 dilute · 艹 + 溥
vs縛 truss · 糸 + 尃
薄 has 艹 + 溥 where 縛 has 糸 + 尃.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · báo, bó

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

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

Pinyin báo, bó most common readings

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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