Nihoner
漢字 Kanji list Games
Log in Play Kanji Duel

Shoot

On’yomiしゃ
Kun’yomiい.る・さ.す・う.つ
MeaningsShoot, Shine Into, Onto, Archery
JLPT N1 10 strokes #919 most common Grade 6 Radical inch
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 射

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

10 strokes
✎ Now write it yourself

Draw it on screen and be marked on stroke order and direction.

分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 射

Almost every kanji is built from a small set of reusable parts. Learn the parts once and you stop memorising thousands of unrelated shapes.

部首 · Radical

The radical of 射

Radical 41 of 214
Inch

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 射 is filed under (inch) — radical number 41 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 寸

練習 · Practice

Drill 射 right now

Three quick games built from this character's real data. Your streak is kept in this browser.

0Streak
0Best
0Correct
Tap to reveal
Shoot しゃ い.る・さ.す・う.つ
What does it mean?
Which kanji is it?
熟語 · In real words

Words that use 射

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

放射性 ほうしゃせい radioactive
放射能 ほうしゃのう radioactivity; radiation; radioactive material
放射線 ほうしゃせん radiation
発射 はっしゃ firing (esp. a rocket or missile); launching; shooting
注射 ちゅうしゃ injection; jab; shot
射程 しゃてい range (of a rifle, missile, etc.)
射つ うつ to shoot (a gun, person, etc.); to fire
射撃 しゃげき firing; shooting; fire
射殺 しゃさつ shooting to death
陽射 ひざし sunlight; rays of the Sun
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 射

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 射 — learn them together, not separately.

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 射

Place names are where kanji readings get strange — and where you meet this character in the wild.

画数 · 10 strokes

Other 10-stroke kanji

Useful when looking a character up by stroke count — and a common source of visual mix-ups.

頻度 · Frequency

Next in the frequency list

射 is the 919th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

Think you know which kanji is more common?

Kanji Duel pits 射 and 3,000 others head to head. One life. How long can you last?

Enter the Duel →
質問 · Questions

About the kanji 射

What does the kanji 射 mean?

射 means Shoot, Shine Into, Onto, Archery. It is the 919th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 射?

射 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) しゃ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) い.る、さ.す、う.つ.

How many strokes does 射 have?

射 is written with 10 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 射?

It appears at JLPT level N1, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 6.

What is the radical of 射?

The radical of 射 is 寸 (inch), radical number 41 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What parts is the kanji 射 made of?

射 is built from 身 (somebody) and 寸 (measurement). Learning kanji as combinations of a few hundred reusable components is far more efficient than memorising each character as a separate shape.

What words use the kanji 射?

Common words written with 射 include 放射性 (ほうしゃせい, radioactive); 放射能 (ほうしゃのう, radioactivity; radiation; radioactive material); 放射線 (ほうしゃせん, radiation).

Which kanji sound the same as 射?

射 shares a reading with 社 (しゃ), 者 (しゃ), 予 (しゃ), 車 (しゃ), 写 (しゃ), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

None of this is being saved

Signed in, we would remember every character you have looked at — and write you reading you can actually get through, built from exactly those.

Start remembering — free
Free account · 3 passages a day · no card