由
由 — Wherefore
wherefore, a reason
On’yomiユ (yu)
On’yomiユウ (yuu)
On’yomiユイ (yui)
Kun’yomiよし (yoshi)
Kun’yomiよる (yoru)
Stroke order (5 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 由
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自由 | じゆう jiyuu | freedom; liberty |
| 理由 | りゆう riyuu | reason; grounds; pretext |
| 由 | よし yoshi | reason; significance; cause |
| 経由 | けいゆ keiyu | going through; going via; going by way of |
| 不自由 | ふじゆう fujiyuu | discomfort; inconvenience; poverty |
| 自由化 | じゆうか jiyuuka | liberalization; liberalisation; freeing |
Study notes
由 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #325 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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