司
司 — Director
director, official, govt office, rule, administer
On’yomiシ (shi)
Kun’yomiつかさどる (tsukasadoru)
Stroke order (5 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 司
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 司令官 | しれいかん shireikan | commandant; commanding officer; general |
| 司法 | しほう shihou | administration of justice; judicature |
| 上司 | じょうし joushi | (one's) superior; (one's) boss; the higher-ups |
| 司令部 | しれいぶ shireibu | headquarters |
| 司会 | しかい shikai | leading a meeting; presiding over a meeting; officiating at a ceremony |
| 公司 | コンス konsu | company (in China); firm |
Study notes
司 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #759 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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