字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

cut, cutoff, be sharp

On’yomi セツ、サイ
Kun’yomi き.る、-き.る、き.り、-き.り、-ぎ.り、き.れる、-き.れる、き.れ、-き.れ、-ぎ.れ
Nanori きつ、きり、ぎり

Origin

This character combines a knife radical on the right, which directly evokes the meaning of cutting, with the component seven on the left that serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The knife was the essential tool for cutting in ancient times, so pairing it with a phonetic element created a character that visually suggests the action of slicing or severing with a blade. Over time, the character's meaning expanded from the physical act of cutting to include related ideas like being sharp or cutting off connections.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

切 4 strokes

Components

  • 七 sound hint left
  • 刀 radical right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 一切 いっさい all; everything
  • 懇切 こんせつ kind and careful (instruction, explanation, etc.); considerate
  • 親切 しんせつ kind; gentle
  • 切り きり end; finish
  • 切る きる to cut; to cut through
  • 切れ きれ piece; slice
  • 切実 せつじつ earnest; sincere
  • 切手 きって stamp (postage)

Related kanji

Same sound component 七
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
4
Kangxi radical
18
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#324 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+05207