勉
勉 — Exertion
exertion, endeavour, encourage, strive, make effort, diligent
On’yomiベン (ben)
Kun’yomiつとめる (tsutomeru)
Stroke order (10 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 勉
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勉強 | べんきょう benkyou | study; diligence; working hard |
| 勤勉 | きんべん kinben | diligent; hard-working; industrious |
| 勉学 | べんがく bengaku | study; pursuit of knowledge |
| 勉強中 | べんきょうちゅう benkyouchuu | while studying; presently studying |
Study notes
勉 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1066 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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