Meaning & readings
longevity, congratulations, one's natural life
On’yomi ジュ、ス、シュウ
Kun’yomi ことぶき、ことぶ.く、ことほ.ぐ
Nanori かず、じ、じゅう、すっ、すみ、とし、としかつ、なが、のぶ、のり、ひさ、ひさし、やす
Origin
This character combines the idea of long life with a sound hint. The top component, three horizontal lines stacked together, suggests something that goes on and on—a visual way to show continuity and abundance. Below that sits a component that sounds roughly like "sun" in Chinese, which serves as a pronunciation guide rather than adding to the meaning. Together, the character came to mean longevity and long life, which is why it appears on congratulations and celebrations in Japanese culture.
Common words
- 喜寿 きじゅ 77th birthday
- 寿命 じゅみょう lifespan; life
- 長寿 ちょうじゅ long life; longevity
- 天寿 てんじゅ natural span of life
- 寿司 すし sushi; range of dishes made with vinegared rice combined with fish, vegetables, egg, etc.
- 恵比寿 えびす Ebisu; god of fishing and commerce
- にぎり寿司 にぎりずし nigirizushi; hand-pressed vinegared rice topped with seafood
Reference
- Strokes
- 7
- Kangxi radical
- 41
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1245 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+05BFF