耳: ear

JLPT level N3
6 strokes
Radical 耳

Readings

On’yomi

Kun’yomi

みみ

On’yomi and kun’yomi?

On’yomi are readings that came from Chinese, written here in katakana. Kun’yomi are native Japanese readings, written in hiragana. Which one is used depends on the word: kanji in compounds often take an on’yomi, and a kanji standing alone often takes a kun’yomi.

Stroke order

0.5×1×2×

Strokes from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Example words

耳(みみ)ear
耳目(じもく)eyes and ears; seeing and hearing
中耳(ちゅうじ)middle ear; tympanum
耳元(みみもと)close to the ear
耳(みみ)よりwelcome (news); inviting; encouraging
耳鼻科(じびか)otolaryngology; ear, nose, and throat department

Where do these words come from?

They are common words containing 耳, from JMdict, picked automatically with words made of easier kanji first. They are not graded by JLPT level.

Keep exploring

Same radical. 耳 is itself radical no. 128, and KANJIDIC2 files these kanji under it too.

What is a radical?

Dictionaries file every kanji under one of 214 radicals, a component used for looking it up. A shared radical often hints at a shared theme, but not always, and it says nothing certain about a character’s history. A radical can change shape inside a kanji, as 水 becomes 氵.

Additional detailsSchool grade, frequency, Unicode and sources

School grade: Grade 1 (primary school)
Newspaper frequency: 1,328 of 2,500
Classical radical: 耳 no. 128
Unicode: U+8033

School grade comes from the Japanese school curriculum. Frequency is the rank among the 2,500 most common kanji in newspapers. Neither is a JLPT level.

Sources for this entry

KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0): meanings, on’yomi, kun’yomi, stroke count, school grade, newspaper frequency, radical
Jonathan Waller's JLPT kanji lists (CC BY): JLPT level
JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0): example words
KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0): stroke order