久
久 — Long time
long time, old story
On’yomiキュウ (kyuu)
On’yomiク (ku)
Kun’yomiひさしい (hisashii)
Stroke order (3 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 久
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 久しぶり | ひさしぶり hisashiburi | a long time (since the last time); first in a long time; it's been a long time |
| 久々 | ひさびさ hisabisa | (in a) long time; long time (ago); while (ago) |
| 永久 | えいきゅう eikyuu | eternity; permanence; perpetuity |
| 恒久 | こうきゅう koukyuu | permanence; perpetuity |
| 耐久 | たいきゅう taikyuu | endurance; persistence |
| 久しい | ひさしい hisashii | long (time that has passed); old (story) |
Study notes
久 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #688 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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