Kanji Library
KanjiJLPT N1 › 絹

絹 — Silk

JLPT N113 strokesGrade 6#1916 most used
silk
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiきぬ (kinu)

Stroke order (13 strokes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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

Common words using 絹

WordReadingMeaning
きぬ
kinu
silk
絹織物きぬおりもの
kinuorimono
silk goods
絹布けんぷ
kenpu
silk; silk cloth
絹糸きぬいと
kinuito
silk thread; silk yarn; corn silk

Study notes

絹 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1916 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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