犬 · dog

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

犬 means dog. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 4 strokes, read いぬ or けん. It is built from 2 parts: 大 (large, big), 丶 (dot, tick or dot radical (no. 3)).

筆順 · Stroke order

犬 is written in 4 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

犬 breaks into 2 parts.

• 大 other large, big component
• 丶 other dot, tick or dot radical (no. 3) component

Words that use 犬

Word	Reading	Meaning
犬	いぬ	dog

Built from the same parts

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

• 天sky

Practise 犬

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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