๐ Meaning & Origin
The ๆ radical is a pictogram of an open hand with five fingers. As the variant ๆ on the left side of kanji, it signals hand-related actions โ holding, throwing, operating, or manipulating.
๐ Kanji by JLPT Level
๐ก Teacher's Memory Tip
Five fingers of a hand. When you see ๆ on the left side of a kanji, think 'someone is doing something with their hands.' Almost all ๆ kanji are action verbs.
โ Frequently Asked Questions
The ๆ radical means 'hand.' As the ๆ variant, it appears in dozens of action verbs โ because hands are how we interact with the world.
N5 kanji: ๆ (hand). As you advance to N4/N3, you'll encounter ๆ (hold), ๆ (finger/point), ๆ (strike) and many more action verbs with ๆ.
Imagine a hand reaching out. The ๆ variant looks like a simplified hand. Whenever you see it on the left, think: 'a hand is doing this action.'
Other N5 Radicals
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