裂
裂 — Split
split, rend, tear
On’yomiレツ (retsu)
Kun’yomiさく (saku)
Kun’yomiさける (sakeru)
Kun’yomi-ぎれ (gire)
Stroke order (12 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 裂
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 分裂 | ぶんれつ bunretsu | split; division; break up |
| 亀裂 | きれつ kiretsu | crack; crevice; fissure |
| 決裂 | けつれつ ketsuretsu | breakdown (of talks, negotiations, etc.); breaking off; rupture |
| 破裂 | はれつ haretsu | bursting; rupture; explosion |
| 核分裂 | かくぶんれつ kakubunretsu | nuclear fission; karyokinesis (division of a cell nucleus during mitosis or meiosis) |
| 引き裂く | ひきさく hikisaku | to tear up; to tear off; to rip up |
Study notes
裂 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #1041 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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