税
税 — Tax
tax, duty
On’yomiゼイ (zei)
Kun’yomi—
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 税
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 関税 | かんぜい kanzei | customs (duties); duty; tariff |
| 減税 | げんぜい genzei | tax reduction |
| 消費税 | しょうひぜい shouhizei | consumption tax (incl. sales tax, VAT, excise duty, etc.) |
| 税制 | ぜいせい zeisei | tax system |
| 課税 | かぜい kazei | taxation |
| 所得税 | しょとくぜい shotokuzei | income tax |
Study notes
税 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #289 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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