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Bow

On’yomiきゅう
Kun’yomiゆみ
MeaningsBow, Bow (archery, Violin)
JLPT N1 3 strokes #1752 most common Grade 2 Radical bow
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 弓

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 弓

Radical 57 of 214
Bow

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 弓 is filed under (bow) — radical number 57 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 弓

練習 · Practice

Drill 弓 right now

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Bow きゅう ゆみ
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 弓

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.

洋弓 ようきゅう (Western) archery; Western-style bow
弓道 きゅうどう kyūdō; kyudo; Japanese archery
弓矢 ゆみや bow and arrow; weapon; arms
弓箭 ゆみや bow and arrow; weapon; arms
大弓 ダイキュー bow, longbow
長弓 チョーキュー longbow
弓田 ユダ Utah
強弓 ゴーキュー bow with a heavy draw weight, someone who wields a heavy-draw-weight bow
弓取 ユミトリ bow-twirling ceremony at the end of a day of sumo wrestling, sumo wrestler who carries out
半弓 ハンキュー small bow
名乗り · Name readings

How 弓 is read in names

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

同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 弓

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 弓 — 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

弓 is the 1752nd 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 弓

What does the kanji 弓 mean?

弓 means Bow, Bow (archery, Violin). It is the 1752nd most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 弓?

弓 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) きゅう; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ゆみ.

How many strokes does 弓 have?

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

What level is the kanji 弓?

It appears at JLPT level N1, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 2.

What is the radical of 弓?

The radical of 弓 is 弓 (bow), radical number 57 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 弓?

Common words written with 弓 include 洋弓 (ようきゅう, (Western) archery; Western-style bow); 弓道 (きゅうどう, kyūdō; kyudo; Japanese archery); 弓矢 (ゆみや, bow and arrow; weapon; arms).

Which kanji sound the same as 弓?

弓 shares a reading with 九 (きゅう), 求 (きゅう), 球 (きゅう), 急 (きゅう), 宮 (きゅう), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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