Meaning & readings
exhaust, use up, run out of, deplete, befriend, serve
On’yomi ジン、サン
Kun’yomi つ.きる、つ.くす、つ.かす、-づ.く、-ず.く、ことごと.く
Origin
The character 尽 combines two parts to show the idea of running out or exhausting something. The top component 尺 represents a measuring ruler or standard length, suggesting a limit or boundary. The bottom component 冫 represents ice or something frozen and still, which conveys the sense of reaching an end point where nothing more can move or continue. Together, these parts create an image of reaching a limit and having nothing left to go further, which is why the character means to exhaust, use up, or completely finish something.
Components
- 尺
- 冫
Common words
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 6
- Kangxi radical
- 44
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1234 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+05C3D