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One

On’yomiいち・いつ
Kun’yomiひと-・ひと.つ
MeaningsOne, One Radical (no.1)
1 strokes #2 most common Grade 1 Radical one
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 一

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

1 strokes
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部首 · Radical

The radical of 一

Radical 1 of 214
One

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 一 is filed under (one) — radical number 1 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 一

練習 · Practice

Drill 一 right now

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

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One いち・いつ ひと-・ひと.つ
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熟語 · In real words

Words that use 一

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.

一一 じゅういち eleven; 11; jack
十一 じゅういち eleven; 11; jack
一二 じゅうに twelve; 12; queen
一三 じゅうさん thirteen; 13; king
一時 いちじ one o'clock; once; at one time
一月 いちがつ January; first month of the lunar calendar
一五 じゅうご fifteen; 15
一部 いちぶ one part; one portion; one section
一方 いっぽう one (esp. of two); the other; one way
一四 じゅうし fourteen; 14
名乗り · Name readings

How 一 is read in names

Japanese names use readings that appear nowhere else in the language. These are 一's — the reason personal and place names are so hard to read even for native speakers.

かずいっいるかつかづてんはじめ
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 一

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 一 — learn them together, not separately.

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 一

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

画数 · 1 strokes

Other 1-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

一 is the 2nd 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 一

What does the kanji 一 mean?

一 means One, One Radical (no.1). It is the 2nd most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 一?

一 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) いち、いつ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ひと-、ひと.つ.

How many strokes does 一 have?

一 is written with 1 stroke. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 一?

Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 1.

What is the radical of 一?

The radical of 一 is 一 (one), radical number 1 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 一?

Common words written with 一 include 一一 (じゅういち, eleven; 11; jack); 十一 (じゅういち, eleven; 11; jack); 一二 (じゅうに, twelve; 12; queen).

Which kanji sound the same as 一?

一 shares a reading with 乙 (いつ), 壱 (いち), 溢 (いつ), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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