字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

chastise, attack, defeat, destroy, conquer

On’yomi トウ
Kun’yomi う.つ

Origin

The character 討 combines the word radical 言, meaning "speak" or "language," with 寸 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The sense of "chastise" or "attack" developed from the idea of speaking out against someone—to criticize, denounce, or call out wrongdoing. Over time, this extended to the broader meanings of attacking, defeating, or destroying an enemy through forceful action. The 寸 component doesn't add to the meaning itself, but helps readers recognize how the character should be pronounced.

討 10 strokes

Components

  • 言 radical left
  • 寸 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

  • 検討 けんとう consideration; examination
  • 掃討 そうとう cleaning up (enemy remnants); sweeping clean (of opponents)
  • 討議 とうぎ debate; discussion
  • 討論 とうろん debate; discussion
  • 討つ うつ to attack; to destroy
  • 再検討 さいけんとう re-examination; review
  • 追い討ち おいうち attacking a fleeing enemy

Related kanji

Same sound component 寸
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
10
Kangxi radical
149
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#528 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+08A0E