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Dance

On’yomi
Kun’yomiま.う・-ま.う・まい
MeaningsDance, Flit, Circle, Wheel
JLPT N3 15 strokes #646 most common Secondary school Radical oppose
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 舞

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

15 strokes
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分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 舞

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

Why it sounds the way it does. The part 丿+2+一+3+3+3+3+2 is the phonetic component — it carries the sound rather than the meaning. That is why 舞 is read . Roughly two-thirds of all kanji work this way, which makes unfamiliar readings guessable once you spot the pattern.
部首 · Radical

The radical of 舞

Radical 136 of 214
Oppose

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 舞 is filed under (oppose) — radical number 136 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 舛

練習 · Practice

Drill 舞 right now

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Dance ぶ ま.う・-ま.う・まい
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 舞

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.

舞台 ぶたい stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.); stage performance; stage production
歌舞伎 かぶき kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly
歌舞妓 かぶき kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly
舞踊 ぶよう dancing; dance
舞い まい dancing; dance
見舞う みまう to visit and comfort or console; to go to see (e.g. someone in hospital); to ask after (e.
見舞 みまい visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's healt
見舞い みまい visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's healt
舞台裏 ぶたいうら offstage; backstage; behind the scenes
舞踏 ぶとう dance (esp. Western style); dancing
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 舞

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

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 舞

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

画数 · 15 strokes

Other 15-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

舞 is the 646th 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 舞

What does the kanji 舞 mean?

舞 means Dance, Flit, Circle, Wheel. It is the 646th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 舞?

舞 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) ぶ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ま.う、-ま.う、まい.

How many strokes does 舞 have?

舞 is written with 15 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 舞?

It appears at JLPT level N3, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in secondary school.

What is the radical of 舞?

The radical of 舞 is 舛 (oppose), radical number 136 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.

Why is 舞 read ぶ?

舞 contains 丿+2+一+3+3+3+3+2 as its phonetic component — the part that carries the sound rather than the meaning, which is why 舞 is read ぶ. Roughly two-thirds of all kanji are built this way, so spotting the phonetic component often lets you guess the reading of a character you have never seen.

What words use the kanji 舞?

Common words written with 舞 include 舞台 (ぶたい, stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.); stage performance; stage production); 歌舞伎 (かぶき, kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly); 歌舞妓 (かぶき, kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly).

Which kanji sound the same as 舞?

舞 shares a reading with 部 (ぶ), 不 (ぶ), 無 (ぶ), 武 (ぶ), 歩 (ぶ), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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