画 · picture, stroke

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

画 means picture, stroke. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 8 strokes, read が or え. It is built from 3 parts: 一 (one, one radical (no.1)), 由 (wherefore, a reason), 凵 (open box enclosure, open box radical (no. 17)). It appears in 映画 (movie / film) and 映画館 (movie theater / cinema).

筆順 · Stroke order

画 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

画 breaks into 3 parts.

• 一 semantic one, one radical (no.1) carries the meaning
• 由 other wherefore, a reason component
• 凵 other open box enclosure, open box radical (no. 17) component

Words that use 画

Word	Reading	Meaning
映画	えいが	movie / film
映画館	えいがかん	movie theater / cinema
漫画	まんが	comic (book) / cartoon

Built from the same parts

These use 一 or 由 or 凵 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
• 下below
• 天sky
• 両both

Practise 画

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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