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Bamboo Grass

Kun’yomiささ
MeaningsBamboo Grass, (kokuji)
JLPT N1 11 strokes #1696 most common Name kanji Radical bamboo
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 笹

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

11 strokes
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分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 笹

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 笹

Radical 118 of 214
Bamboo

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 笹 is filed under (bamboo) — radical number 118 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 竹

練習 · Practice

Drill 笹 right now

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

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Bamboo Grass ささ
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 笹

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.

笹原 ささはら field of bamboo grass
笹竹 ササタケ small bamboo
根笹 ネザサ dwarf bamboo (varieties that thrive in western Japan)
熊笹 クマザサ kuma bamboo grass (Sasa veitchii), Veitch's bamboo
雪笹 ユキザサ Maianthemum japonicum (species of monocot)
笹舟 ササブネ toy bamboo-leaf boat
隈笹 クマザサ kuma bamboo grass (Sasa veitchii), Veitch's bamboo
笹藪 ササヤブ thicket of bamboo grass
笹百合 ササユリ Japanese lily (Lilium japonicum)
クマ笹 クマザサ kuma bamboo grass (Sasa veitchii), Veitch's bamboo
名乗り · Name readings

How 笹 is read in names

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

さきしのじね
画数 · 11 strokes

Other 11-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

笹 is the 1696th 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 笹

What does the kanji 笹 mean?

笹 means Bamboo Grass, (kokuji). It is the 1696th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 笹?

笹 is read kun'yomi (native Japanese) ささ.

How many strokes does 笹 have?

笹 is written with 11 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 笹?

It appears at JLPT level N1, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in name kanji.

What is the radical of 笹?

The radical of 笹 is 竹 (bamboo), radical number 118 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 笹 made of?

笹 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 世 (generation). 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 笹?

Common words written with 笹 include 笹原 (ささはら, field of bamboo grass); 笹竹 (ササタケ, small bamboo); 根笹 (ネザサ, dwarf bamboo (varieties that thrive in western Japan)).

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