泳
泳 — Swim
swim
On’yomiエイ (ei)
Kun’yomiおよぐ (oyogu)
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 泳
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 水泳 | すいえい suiei | swimming |
| 競泳 | きょうえい kyouei | competitive swimming; swimming race |
| 平泳ぎ | ひらおよぎ hiraoyogi | breaststroke (swimming) |
| 泳ぐ | およぐ oyogu | to swim; to struggle through (a crowd); to make one's way through the world |
| 背泳ぎ | せおよぎ seoyogi | backstroke (swimming) |
| 泳ぎ | およぎ oyogi | swimming |
Study notes
泳 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1223 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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