Meaning & readings

deed, skill

On’yomi ギ、キ
Kun’yomi わざ、わざおぎ

Origin

This character combines a person component on the left with a component suggesting branching or supporting on the right. The idea is that a person's skills branch out in different directions like the limbs of a tree, or that skill is something that supports or props up a person's abilities. Over time, the character came to mean the deeds or techniques that a skilled person can perform, emphasizing the practical, actionable nature of expertise rather than abstract knowledge.

伎 6 strokes

Components

  • 亻 radical left
  • 支 meaning part right

Common words

  • 歌舞伎 かぶき kabuki; traditional form of drama and music performed by male actors wearing makeup mainly in white and red

Easily confused with

These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.

Reference

Strokes
6
Kangxi radical
9
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
—
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+04F0E