責
責 — Blame
blame, condemn, censure
On’yomiセキ (seki)
Kun’yomiせめる (semeru)
Stroke order (11 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 責
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 責任 | せきにん sekinin | duty; responsibility (incl. supervision of staff); liability |
| 責任者 | せきにんしゃ sekininsha | person in charge (including a supervisory role for other staff); person responsible for ...; responsible party |
| 責務 | せきむ sekimu | duty; obligation |
| 無責任 | むせきにん musekinin | irresponsibility |
| 引責 | いんせき inseki | taking responsibility |
| 刑事責任 | けいじせきにん keijisekinin | criminal liability |
Study notes
責 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #598 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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