字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

touch, contact, adjoin, piece together

On’yomi セツ、ショウ
Kun’yomi つ.ぐ

Origin

The left component represents a hand, which points to the meaning "touch" or "contact." The right component is a sound hint that suggests how to pronounce the character, but does not itself contribute meaning. Together, the character shows the idea of a hand coming into contact with something, which led to the broader meanings of "adjoin," "piece together," and "connect." Over time, the hand-based meaning expanded to include the sense of making contact or joining things.

接 11 strokes

Components

  • 扌 radical left
  • 妾 sound hint right

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

Common words

  • 応接 おうせつ reception (e.g. of visitors); dealing with
  • 間接 かんせつ indirection; indirectness
  • 接近 せっきん getting closer; drawing nearer
  • 接見 せっけん (official) audience; interview
  • 接種 せっしゅ inoculation; vaccination
  • 接触 せっしょく touch; contact
  • 接戦 せっせん close contest; close match
  • 接続 せつぞく connection; attachment

Related kanji

Same radical

Reference

Strokes
11
Kangxi radical
64
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#523 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+063A5