三
三 — Three
three
On’yomiサン (san)
On’yomiゾウ (zou)
Kun’yomiみ (mi)
Kun’yomiみつ (mitsu)
Kun’yomiみっつ (mittsu)
Stroke order (3 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 三
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三月 | さんがつ sangatsu | March; third month of the lunar calendar |
| 三人 | さんにん sannin | three people |
| 十三 | じゅうさん juusan | thirteen; 13; king |
| 三 | さん san | three; 3 |
| 三十 | さんじゅう sanjuu | thirty; 30; 6am |
| 三つ | みっつ mittsu | three; three years of age |
Study notes
三 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #14 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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