罪
罪 — Guilt
guilt, sin, crime, fault, blame, offense
On’yomiザイ (zai)
Kun’yomiつみ (tsumi)
Stroke order (13 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 罪
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 犯罪 | はんざい hanzai | crime; offence; offense |
| 罪 | つみ tsumi | crime; sin; wrongdoing |
| 無罪 | むざい muzai | innocence; being not guilty |
| 謝罪 | しゃざい shazai | apology |
| 有罪 | ゆうざい yuuzai | guilt; culpability |
| 犯罪者 | はんざいしゃ hanzaisha | criminal; culprit |
Study notes
罪 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #732 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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