物 · thing, object

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

物 means thing, object. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 8 strokes, read もの or ぶつ. It is built from 2 parts: 牛 (cow), 勿 (not, must not). It appears in 果物 (fruit) and 建物 (building).

筆順 · Stroke order

物 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

物 breaks into 2 parts.

• 牛 semantic cow · left carries the meaning
• 勿 other not, must not · right component

Words that use 物

Word	Reading	Meaning
物	もの	thing (concrete object)
果物	くだもの	fruit
建物	たてもの	building

Built from the same parts

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

• 特special

Practise 物

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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