蚕
蚕 — Silkworm
silkworm
On’yomiサン (san)
On’yomiテン (ten)
Kun’yomiかいこ (kaiko)
Kun’yomiこ (ko)
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 蚕
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蚕 | かいこ kaiko | silkworm (Bombyx mori) |
| 養蚕 | ようさん yousan | sericulture; silkworm culture; silkworm raising |
| 蚕糸 | さんし sanshi | silk thread; silk yarn |
Study notes
蚕 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 #2272 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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