側
側 — Side
side, lean, oppose, regret
On’yomiソク (soku)
Kun’yomiかわ (kawa)
Kun’yomiがわ (gawa)
Kun’yomiそば (soba)
Stroke order (11 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 側
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 西側 | にしがわ nishigawa | west side; west bank |
| 側 | そば soba | (place) near by; (place) close by; (place) right next to |
| 側近 | そっきん sokkin | close aide (of a powerful person); close associate; entourage |
| 側面 | そくめん sokumen | side; flank; profile |
| 北側 | きたがわ kitagawa | north side; north bank |
| 内側 | うちがわ uchigawa | inside; interior; inner part |
Study notes
側 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #216 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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