敗
敗 — Failure
failure, defeat, reversal
On’yomiハイ (hai)
Kun’yomiやぶれる (yabureru)
Stroke order (11 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 敗
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腐敗 | ふはい fuhai | decomposition; putrefaction; putrescence |
| 失敗 | しっぱい shippai | failure; mistake; blunder |
| 連敗 | れんぱい renpai | consecutive defeats; series of defeats |
| 敗戦 | はいせん haisen | defeat; lost battle; losing a war |
| 敗北 | はいぼく haiboku | defeat; loss; reverse |
| 勝敗 | しょうはい shouhai | victory or defeat; outcome (of a game, battle, etc.) |
Study notes
敗 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #516 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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