Meaning & readings
create, make, structure, physique
On’yomi ゾウ
Kun’yomi つく.る、つく.り、-づく.り
Nanori ずくり、づくり、み
Origin
This character combines the idea of "announce" or "inform" (the top part, 告) with the "walk" or "movement" radical (the left side, ⻌ — the same shape you see in characters about going places). Together, these suggest the process of building or creating something by moving forward with purpose and communication. Over time, this came to mean the broader idea of "make" or "construct" — the deliberate assembly of something new. The character's structure reflects how creation involves both planning (the announcement component) and active work (the movement component).
Components
- 告
- ⻌
Common words
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 10
- Kangxi radical
- 162
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #429 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+09020