字の旅3,000 years in three forms
Bronze · Western ZhouWestern Zhou · c. 1000 BCE士上卣 (西周早期)
Bronze and small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
部首Radical · in Human Body & People
士
士 man, scholar, samurai (top)
さむらいかんむり samuraikanmuri
3 strokesRadical of 4 kanjiPart of 9
Your ink in 士0% painted · 0 of 4 familiar
Origin · sourced
Pictogram象形
A war axe. Later, it took the meaning of "soldier" and eventually "officer, intellectual".
Source: Wiktionary, 士 (rev. 93756827), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“The leader at the top! Imagine a high-ranking official or a brave samurai standing on a platform, overseeing their duties. This radical brings the energy of leadership and social status to the very head of the character. When you see it at the top, think of a voice that commands, property that is managed, or a high-ranking position.”
Where it sits in a kanji
Indicates a person of status in a leading position, formal actions, authoritative speech, or the quality of being ancient and established.
育つ
What it grows into
Built from 士, with sourced origins
- 壮robustソウ · さかん
爿sound + 士
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, 壯, CC BY-SA 4.0
一覧
Every kanji with 士 as its radical
Most used first
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
All 4 kanji