吸
吸 — Suck
suck, imbibe, inhale, sip
On’yomiキュウ (kyuu)
Kun’yomiすう (suu)
Stroke order (6 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 吸
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 呼吸 | こきゅう kokyuu | breathing; respiration; knack |
| 吸収 | きゅうしゅう kyuushuu | absorption; suction; attraction |
| 呼吸器 | こきゅうき kokyuuki | respiratory organs |
| 人工呼吸 | じんこうこきゅう jinkoukokyuu | artificial respiration |
| 吸い殻 | すいがら suigara | cigarette end; cigarette butt; tobacco ashes |
| 吸い込む | すいこむ suikomu | to inhale; to breathe in; to suck up |
Study notes
吸 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1054 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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