Meaning & readings
discipline, conduct oneself well, study, master
Origin
This character combines the idea of a person (shown on the left) with a component suggesting length or extension (on the right). The shape most likely represents someone engaged in self-improvement or refinement—the notion of "stretching" or "extending" oneself toward better conduct. Over time, this visual idea of a person extending themselves in effort came to mean discipline, study, and mastering skills. The character captures the sense of actively working to improve oneself, which is why it carries meanings related to studying, conducting oneself well, and self-discipline.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (修).
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 10
- Kangxi radical
- 9
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #603 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+04FEE