級
級 — Class
class, rank, grade
On’yomiキュウ (kyuu)
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 級
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 高級 | こうきゅう koukyuu | high-class; high-grade; high-quality |
| 級 | きゅう kyuu | (school) grade; year; class |
| 階級 | かいきゅう kaikyuu | (social) class; rank; grade |
| 同級生 | どうきゅうせい doukyuusei | classmate |
| 学級 | がっきゅう gakkyuu | (school) class |
| 上級 | じょうきゅう joukyuu | upper level; upper grade; high rank |
Study notes
級 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #785 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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