従
従 — Accompany
accompany, obey, submit to, comply, follow, secondary
On’yomiジュウ (juu)
On’yomiショウ (shou)
On’yomiジュ (ju)
Kun’yomiしたがう (shitagau)
Kun’yomiしたがえる (shitagaeru)
Kun’yomiより (yori)
Stroke order (10 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 従
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 従来 | じゅうらい juurai | up to now; so far; traditional |
| 従業員 | じゅうぎょういん juugyouin | employee; worker |
| 従軍 | じゅうぐん juugun | military service; serving in a war; taking part in a campaign |
| 従って | したがって shitagatte | therefore; consequently; accordingly |
| 従事 | じゅうじ juuji | engaging in (work); pursuing (e.g. studies); following (a profession) |
| 侍従 | じじゅう jijuu | chamberlain |
Study notes
従 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #601 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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