Nihoner
漢字 Kanji list Games
Log in Play Kanji Duel

Father

On’yomi
Kun’yomiちち
4 strokes #637 most common Grade 2 Radical father
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 父

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

4 strokes
✎ Now write it yourself

Draw it on screen and be marked on stroke order and direction.

部首 · Radical

The radical of 父

Radical 88 of 214
Father

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 父 is filed under (father) — radical number 88 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

練習 · Practice

Drill 父 right now

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

0Streak
0Best
0Correct
Tap to reveal
Father ふ ちち
What does it mean?
Which kanji is it?
熟語 · In real words

Words that use 父

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.

父親 ちちおや father
父母 ふぼ father and mother; parents
御父さん おとうさん father; dad; papa
お父さん おとうさん father; dad; papa
祖父 そふ grandfather; old man; kyogen mask used for the role of an old man
義父 ぎふ father-in-law; foster father; stepfather
神父 しんぷ Catholic priest; abbe; reverend father
祖父母 そふぼ grandparents
伯父 おじ uncle
叔父 おじ uncle
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 父

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

地名 · In place names

Japanese towns written with 父

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

画数 · 4 strokes

Other 4-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

父 is the 637th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

Think you know which kanji is more common?

Kanji Duel pits 父 and 3,000 others head to head. One life. How long can you last?

Enter the Duel →
質問 · Questions

About the kanji 父

What does the kanji 父 mean?

父 means Father. It is the 637th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 父?

父 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) ふ; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ちち.

How many strokes does 父 have?

父 is written with 4 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 父?

Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 2.

What is the radical of 父?

The radical of 父 is 父 (father), radical number 88 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 父?

Common words written with 父 include 父親 (ちちおや, father); 父母 (ふぼ, father and mother; parents); 御父さん (おとうさん, father; dad; papa).

Which kanji sound the same as 父?

父 shares a reading with 不 (ふ), 府 (ふ), 付 (ふ), 夫 (ふ), 負 (ふ), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

None of this is being saved

Signed in, we would remember every character you have looked at — and write you reading you can actually get through, built from exactly those.

Start remembering — free
Free account · 3 passages a day · no card