読 · to read

JLPT N5 kanji. Readings, meaning, and how the character is built.

読 means to read. It is a JLPT N5 kanji written in 14 strokes, read よむ or どく. It combines 言 (say, word), which carries the meaning, with 売, which is there for its sound とく. It appears in 読む (to read) and 句読点 (punctuation marks).

筆順 · Stroke order

読 is written in 14 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

読 breaks into 2 parts.

• 言 semantic say, word · left carries the meaning
• 売 phonetic sell · right carries the sound

Words that use 読

Word	Reading	Meaning
読む	よむ	to read
句読点	くとうてん	punctuation marks
講読	こうどく	reading

Characters that share 売

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

	Reading	Meaning
売	とく	sell
読	とく	read

Built from the same parts

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

• 話to speak
• 記record
• 計measure
• 語language

Practise 読

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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