似
似 — Becoming
becoming, resemble, counterfeit, imitate, suitable
On’yomiジ (ji)
Kun’yomiにる (niru)
Kun’yomiひる (hiru)
Stroke order (7 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 似
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 似顔 | にがお nigao | portrait; likeness |
| 類似 | るいじ ruiji | resemblance; similarity; likeness |
| 疑似 | ぎじ giji | pseudo; quasi; false |
| 酷似 | こくじ kokuji | resembling closely; being strikingly similar; bearing a strong likeness |
| 似せる | にせる niseru | to copy; to imitate; to counterfeit |
| 似る | にる niru | to resemble; to look like; to be like |
Study notes
似 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #923 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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