Kanji Library
KanjiJLPT N1 › 卑

卑 — Lowly

JLPT N19 strokesSecondary school#2003 most used
lowly, base, vile, vulgar, despise
On’yomi (hi)
Kun’yomiいやしい (iyashii)
Kun’yomiいやしむ (iyashimu)
Kun’yomiいやしめる (iyashimeru)

Stroke order (9 strokes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).

Common words using 卑

WordReadingMeaning
卑しいいやしい
iyashii
lowborn; humble; lowly
卑怯ひきょう
hikyou
cowardly; craven; unfair
卑劣ひれつ
hiretsu
mean; contemptible; despicable
男尊女卑だんそんじょひ
dansonjohi
male domination of women; male chauvinism; subjection of women
卑下ひげ
hige
self-abasement; self-depreciation; humility
卑屈ひくつ
hikutsu
servile; subservient; obsequious

Study notes

卑 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #2003 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).

← 詠 recitation侮 scorn →

🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.