背
背 — Stature
stature, height, back, behind, disobey, defy
On’yomiハイ (hai)
Kun’yomiせ (se)
Kun’yomiせい (sei)
Kun’yomiそむく (somuku)
Kun’yomiそむける (somukeru)
Stroke order (9 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 背
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 背景 | はいけい haikei | background; scenery; backdrop |
| 背後 | はいご haigo | back; rear; background |
| 背中 | せなか senaka | back (of the body) |
| 背任 | はいにん hainin | breach of trust; malfeasance; malpractice |
| 背 | せい sei | height; stature |
| 背広 | せびろ sebiro | business suit |
Study notes
背 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #696 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.