Meaning & readings
copy, be photographed, describe
On’yomi シャ、ジャ
Kun’yomi うつ.す、うつ.る、うつ-、うつ.し
Origin
The character 写 combines a roof or cover shape (冖) on top with 与 below, which serves as a sound hint for the Chinese pronunciation. The roof component suggests the idea of something being covered or contained—like an image captured and preserved. Over time, this visual concept of capturing or recording something (as in taking a photograph or making a copy) became the character's primary meaning. The 与 component doesn't contribute to the meaning but rather guides how the character is pronounced in Chinese.
Components
- 冖
- 与
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 5
- Kangxi radical
- 14
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #453 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 3
- Unicode
- U+05199