Meaning & readings
street, ward, town, counter for guns, tools, leaves or cakes of something, even number, 4th calendar sign
Origin
This character most likely started as a pictograph of a wooden peg or stake, which resembles the simple crossed lines we see today. The shape suggests something small, upright, and functional—like a tool stuck into the ground. Over time, this visual image of a small, distinct object led to the character being used as a counter for tools, guns, and other individual items. The meaning later extended to town blocks and street divisions, probably because these also form small, defined units that can be counted individually. The simplicity of the character's two strokes reflects how fundamental and commonly used this idea was in everyday life.
Components
- 一
- 亅
Common words
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 2
- Kangxi radical
- 1
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #1312 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+04E01