周
周 — Circumference
circumference, circuit, lap
On’yomiシュウ (shuu)
Kun’yomiまわり (mawari)
Stroke order (8 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 周
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 周辺 | しゅうへん shuuhen | circumference; outskirts; environs |
| 周年 | しゅうねん shuunen | whole year; entire year; n-th year anniversary |
| 周囲 | しゅうい shuui | surroundings; environs; circumference |
| 周り | まわり mawari | circumference; girth; surroundings |
| 周知 | しゅうち shuuchi | common knowledge; being well-known; making (something) well-known |
| 周波数 | しゅうはすう shuuhasuu | frequency (esp. of waveforms) |
Study notes
周 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #562 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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