Meaning & readings

tie, bind, contract, join, organize, do up hair, fasten

On’yomi ケツ、ケチ
Kun’yomi むす.ぶ、ゆ.う、ゆ.わえる
Nanori ゆい、ゆう

Origin

This character combines a thread or string radical on the left, which points to the idea of binding or tying, with the component for "good" on the right, which serves as a sound hint rather than adding to the meaning. The thread radical was a natural choice because tying, binding, and joining all involve working with threads or rope. Over time, the character's meaning expanded from the physical act of tying string to more abstract senses like forming contracts or organizing things, but the image of thread remains at the core. The "good" component doesn't contribute meaning—it's there primarily to suggest how the character should be pronounced.

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

12 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • 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

  • 完結 かんけつ conclusion; completion
  • 結う ゆう to do up (hair); to dress
  • 結び むすび ending; conclusion
  • 結ぶ むすぶ to tie; to bind
  • 結果 けっか result; consequence
  • 結核 けっかく tuberculosis; TB
  • 結局 けっきょく after all; in the end
  • 結構 けっこう splendid; nice

Reference

Strokes
12
Kangxi radical
120
Grade
Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#162 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+07D50