秘
秘 — Secret
secret, conceal
On’yomiヒ (hi)
Kun’yomiひめる (himeru)
Kun’yomiひそか (hisoka)
Kun’yomiかくす (kakusu)
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 秘
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 秘書 | ひしょ hisho | (private) secretary; treasured book; secret book |
| 秘密 | ひみつ himitsu | secret; secrecy; confidentiality |
| 極秘 | ごくひ gokuhi | absolute secrecy |
| 神秘 | しんぴ shinpi | mystery; mysteriousness; secret |
| 神秘的 | しんぴてき shinpiteki | mysterious; mystical |
| 秘める | ひめる himeru | to hide; to keep to oneself |
Study notes
秘 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #862 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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