Meaning & readings
explanation
On’yomi シャク、セキ
Kun’yomi とく、す.てる、ゆる.す
Nanori しゃ
Origin
The character 釈 combines two parts. On the left, the metal radical 釆 signals that this character relates to metalwork or refined materials. On the right, 尺 serves as a sound hint, telling you roughly how to pronounce the character. Together, the idea developed from the physical act of breaking down or separating metal — like explaining or clarifying something by breaking it into parts — which eventually broadened to mean explanation or release. The 尺 doesn't mean anything here; it's just showing you the sound.
Components
- 釆
- 尺
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 11
- Kangxi radical
- 165
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1097 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+091C8