悲
悲 — Grieve
grieve, sad, deplore, regret
On’yomiヒ (hi)
Kun’yomiかなしい (kanashii)
Kun’yomiかなしむ (kanashimu)
Stroke order (12 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 悲
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悲劇 | ひげき higeki | tragedy; tragic drama; tragic play |
| 悲しみ | かなしみ kanashimi | sadness; sorrow; grief |
| 悲観 | ひかん hikan | pessimism; (taking a) gloomy view; discouragement |
| 悲惨 | ひさん hisan | disastrous; tragic; miserable |
| 悲願 | ひがん higan | one's dearest wish; Buddha's vow to save humanity |
| 悲鳴 | ひめい himei | shriek; scream |
Study notes
悲 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1014 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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