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Self

On’yomiこ・き
Kun’yomiおのれ・つちのと・な
JLPT N1 3 strokes #1074 most common Grade 6 Radical oneself
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 己

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

3 strokes
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部首 · Radical

The radical of 己

Radical 49 of 214
Oneself

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 己 is filed under (oneself) — radical number 49 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 己

練習 · Practice

Drill 己 right now

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Self こ・き おのれ・つちのと・な
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 己

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.

自己 じこ self; oneself
己れ おのれ oneself (itself, etc.); I; me
自己資本 じこしほん net worth; owned capital
知己 ちき acquaintance; close friend
自己紹介 じこしょうかい self-introduction
自己批判 じこひはん self-criticism
利己 りこ self-interest
自己流 じこりゅう one's own style; self-taught manner
利己主義 りこしゅぎ egoism; egotism; selfishness
自己嫌悪 じこけんお self-hatred; self-abhorrence; self-loathing
名乗り · Name readings

How 己 is read in names

Japanese names use readings that appear nowhere else in the language. These are 己's — the reason personal and place names are so hard to read even for native speakers.

同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 己

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

画数 · 3 strokes

Other 3-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

己 is the 1074th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

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質問 · Questions

About the kanji 己

What does the kanji 己 mean?

己 means Self. It is the 1074th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 己?

己 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) こ、き; kun'yomi (native Japanese) おのれ、つちのと、な.

How many strokes does 己 have?

己 is written with 3 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 己?

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

What is the radical of 己?

The radical of 己 is 己 (oneself), radical number 49 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 words use the kanji 己?

Common words written with 己 include 自己 (じこ, self; oneself); 己れ (おのれ, oneself (itself, etc.); I; me); 自己資本 (じこしほん, net worth; owned capital).

Which kanji sound the same as 己?

己 shares a reading with 気 (き), 期 (き), 機 (き), 記 (き), 基 (き), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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