弓
弓 — Bow
bow, bow (archery, violin)
On’yomiキュウ (kyuu)
Kun’yomiゆみ (yumi)
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 弓
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 弓 | ゆみ yumi | bow (weapon); archery; bow (for a violin, etc.) |
| 洋弓 | ようきゅう youkyuu | (Western) archery; Western-style bow |
| 弓道 | きゅうどう kyuudou | kyūdō; kyudo; Japanese archery |
| 弓矢 | ゆみや yumiya | bow and arrow; weapon; arms |
Study notes
弓 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 3 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1802 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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