質
質 — Substance
substance, quality, matter, temperament
On’yomiシツ (shitsu)
On’yomiシチ (shichi)
On’yomiチ (chi)
Kun’yomiたち (tachi)
Kun’yomiただす (tadasu)
Kun’yomiもと (moto)
Kun’yomiわりふ (warifu)
Stroke order (15 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 質
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 質問 | しつもん shitsumon | question; inquiry; enquiry |
| 実質 | じっしつ jisshitsu | substance; essence; substantive |
| 物質 | ぶっしつ busshitsu | material; substance; matter |
| 質 | しつ shitsu | quality; value; nature |
| 実質的 | じっしつてき jisshitsuteki | substantial; real (as opposed to nominal) |
| 体質 | たいしつ taishitsu | constitution (physical); physical make-up; predisposition (to disease) |
Study notes
質 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 15 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #389 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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