字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

advance, proceed, progress, promote

On’yomi シン
Kun’yomi すす.む、すす.める
Nanori のぶ

Origin

This character combines two parts to show the idea of moving forward. The left side is a radical that suggests movement or a path, while the right side depicts a bird, which is known for moving swiftly through space. Together, these components create the sense of something actively advancing or progressing — just as a bird moves forward through the air. Over time, the character's meaning expanded from this physical idea of forward motion to include the broader concepts of progress, promotion, and advancement in general.

進 11 strokes

Components

  • 隹 meaning part position.nyoc
  • ⻌ radical bottom-left wrap

Common words

  • 勧進 かんじん temple solicitation
  • 急進 きゅうしん rapid progress; radical progress
  • 行進 こうしん march; parade
  • 昇進 しょうしん promotion; advancement
  • 進み すすみ progress
  • 進む すすむ to advance; to go forward
  • 進化 しんか evolution
  • 進学 しんがく advancing to the next stage of education; going on to (high school, college, etc.)

Related kanji

Same radical
Shares components

Reference

Strokes
11
Kangxi radical
162
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#142 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+09032