字の旅3,000 years in four forms
Oracle bone · ShangShang · c. 1200 BCE甲3249
Oracle bone and bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
部首Radical · in States & Attributes
斗 measuring cup, ladle, big dipper
ますづくり masuzukuri
4 strokesRadical of 3 kanjiPart of 4
Origin · sourced
Pictogram象形
Pictogram (象形) (Shuowen), indicating a ladle-shaped dipper or cup used to measure grain (see below) held by hand.
Source: Wiktionary, 斗 (rev. 90013237), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Measure it exactly! This radical represents the tools of calculation and the vast, spanning scale of the star-filled sky. When you see it, think of ladles, precise units of measurement, and the action of scooping or pouring with intent. It brings a sense of grounded precision, careful evaluation, and the cosmic order of the night sky to every character it joins.”
Where it sits in a kanji
Indicates measurements of volume (ladles, cups), the act of scooping or pouring, diagonal/slanted motions, or the stars and constellations.
What it grows into
- 料feeリョウ
- 斜diagonalシャ · ななめ
斗 + 余sound
The character expresses the idea of scooping or drawing out. By extension, it is also used to mean "slant" or "diagonal.".
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Every kanji with 斗 as its radical
All 3 kanji