使 · to use

JLPT N4 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.

使 means to use. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 8 strokes, read つかう or し. It is built from 2 parts: 亻 (person), 吏 (officer, an official). It appears in 使う (to use) and 大使館 (embassy).

筆順 · Stroke order

使 is written in 8 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

使 breaks into 2 parts.

• 亻 semantic person · left carries the meaning
• 吏 other officer, an official · right component

Words that use 使

Word	Reading	Meaning
使う	つかう	to use
大使館	たいしかん	embassy
お使い	おつかい	errand

Built from the same parts

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

• 何what
• 休rest
• 作to make
• 借to borrow
• 住to live
• 働to work
• 仕attend
• 体body

Practise 使

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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