下 · below, down

JLPT N5 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.

下 means below, down. It is a JLPT N5 kanji written in 3 strokes, read した or か. It is built from 2 parts: 一 (one, one radical (no.1)), 卜 (divining, fortune-telling). It appears in 靴下 (socks) and 下手 (unskillful / poor).

筆順 · Stroke order

下 is written in 3 strokes, in the order numbered below. Order matters: it is what makes handwriting legible, and it is how the character is looked up in a paper dictionary.

解字 · What it is made of

下 breaks into 2 parts.

• 一 semantic one, one radical (no.1) carries the meaning
• 卜 other divining, fortune-telling component

Words that use 下

Word	Reading	Meaning
下	した	under / below / beneath
靴下	くつした	socks
下手	へた	unskillful / poor

Built from the same parts

These use 一 or 卜 too. The part keeps its job from one character to the next, which is what makes it worth learning once.

• 三three
• 七seven
• 百hundred
• 万ten thousand
• 上above
• 天sky
• 両both
• 画picture

Practise 下

Sumi teaches the character before it tests you: stroke order animated, the breakdown above shown as a pull-apart X-ray, then spaced review. Free, in your browser, no signup.

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