紙 · paper

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

紙 means paper. It is a JLPT N4 kanji written in 10 strokes, read かみ or し. It combines 糸 (thread), which carries the meaning, with 氏, which is there for its sound し. It appears in 手紙 (letter) and 紙屑 (wastepaper).

筆順 · Stroke order

紙 is written in 10 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

紙 breaks into 2 parts.

• 糸 semantic thread · left carries the meaning
• 氏 phonetic family name, surname · right carries the sound

Words that use 紙

Word	Reading	Meaning
紙	かみ	paper
手紙	てがみ	letter
紙屑	かみくず	wastepaper

Characters that share 氏

氏 tends to carry the sound し. They carry it; they do not all mean the same thing.

	Reading	Meaning
氏	し	family name, surname
紙	し	paper
祇	し	national or local god, peaceful

Built from the same parts

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

• 終to end
• 絵picture

Practise 紙

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