紀
紀 — Chronicle
chronicle, account, narrative, history, annals, geologic period
On’yomiキ (ki)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (9 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 紀
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 世紀 | せいき seiki | century; era; of the century (e.g. fight of the century) |
| 二十世紀 | にじっせいき nijisseiki | twentieth century; Nijisseiki pear (variety of nashi); Nijusseiki pear |
| 世紀末 | せいきまつ seikimatsu | end of a century (esp. 19th); fin-de-siècle; end of the world (esp. in fiction) |
| 紀行 | きこう kikou | traveller's journal; traveler's journal; travelogue |
| 紀元前 | きげんぜん kigenzen | pre-era; BC; BCE |
| 紀元 | きげん kigen | era; CE (Common Era); AD (Anno Domini) |
Study notes
紀 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #780 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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