Kanji Library
KanjiJLPT N1 › 忠

忠 — Loyalty

JLPT N18 strokesGrade 6#1113 most used
loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
Kun’yomi

Stroke order (8 strokes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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

Common words using 忠

WordReadingMeaning
忠実ちゅうじつ
chuujitsu
faithful; devoted; loyal
忠臣ちゅうしん
chuushin
loyal retainer; loyal subject
忠誠ちゅうせい
chuusei
loyalty; sincerity; allegiance
忠告ちゅうこく
chuukoku
advice; warning
忠実まめ
mame
diligent; hardworking; conscientious
忠義ちゅうぎ
chuugi
loyalty; devotion

Study notes

忠 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1113 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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