非
非 — Un-
un-, mistake, negative, injustice, non-
On’yomiヒ (hi)
Kun’yomiあらず (arazu)
Stroke order (8 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 非
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 非常 | ひじょう hijou | emergency; extreme; great |
| 是非 | ぜひ zehi | certainly; without fail; right and wrong |
| 非公式 | ひこうしき hikoushiki | informal; unofficial |
| 非難 | ひなん hinan | criticism; blame; censure |
| 非公開 | ひこうかい hikoukai | private; non-public; secret |
| 非合法 | ひごうほう higouhou | illegal; unlawful |
Study notes
非 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #472 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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