速
速 — Quick
quick, fast
On’yomiソク (soku)
Kun’yomiはやい (hayai)
Kun’yomiはや- (haya)
Kun’yomiはやめる (hayameru)
Kun’yomiすみやか (sumiyaka)
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 速
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 急速 | きゅうそく kyuusoku | rapid (e.g. progress) |
| 速球 | そっきゅう sokkyuu | fastball |
| 高速 | こうそく kousoku | high-speed; rapid; express |
| 高速道路 | こうそくどうろ kousokudouro | highway; freeway; expressway |
| 速報 | そくほう sokuhou | news flash; prompt report; bulletin |
| 減速 | げんそく gensoku | deceleration |
Study notes
速 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #576 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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