字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

know, wisdom

On’yomi チ
Kun’yomi し.る、し.らせる
Nanori さと、さとる、しり、しれ、とも、のり

Origin

This character combines an arrow (矢) on the left with a mouth or speech (口) on the right. The arrow suggests speed and directness, while the mouth represents communication or speaking. Together, these parts convey the idea of quickly grasping information and being able to express it — in other words, knowledge and understanding. Over time, the character came to mean "to know" or "wisdom" more broadly, capturing both the act of learning and the state of being informed.

知 8 strokes

Components

  • 矢 radical left
  • 口 meaning part right

Common words

  • 関知 かんち (one's) concern; having (something) to do with
  • 告知 こくち notice; notification
  • 察知 さっち to sense; to infer
  • 周知 しゅうち common knowledge; being well-known
  • 熟知 じゅくち being familiar with; having a thorough knowledge of
  • 承知 しょうち knowledge; awareness
  • 探知 たんち detection
  • 知る しる to know; to be aware (of)

Related kanji

Same radical
Shares components

Reference

Strokes
8
Kangxi radical
111
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#205 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+077E5