競
競 — Emulate
emulate, compete with, bid, sell at auction, bout, contest
On’yomiキョウ (kyou)
On’yomiケイ (kei)
Kun’yomiきそう (kisou)
Kun’yomiせる (seru)
Kun’yomiくらべる (kuraberu)
Stroke order (20 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 競
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 競技 | きょうぎ kyougi | game; match; contest |
| 競争 | きょうそう kyousou | competition; contest; rivalry |
| 競馬 | けいば keiba | horse racing |
| 陸上競技 | りくじょうきょうぎ rikujoukyougi | track and field; athletics |
| 競馬場 | けいばじょう keibajou | racecourse; race track |
| 競る | せる seru | to compete; to bid; to sell at auction |
Study notes
競 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 20 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #610 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.