腰
腰 — Loins
loins, hips, waist, low wainscoting
On’yomiヨウ (you)
Kun’yomiこし (koshi)
Stroke order (13 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 腰
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 腰 | こし koshi | lower back; waist; hips |
| 腰痛 | ようつう youtsuu | lower back pain; lumbago |
| 足腰 | あしこし ashikoshi | legs and loins; lower body; foundations |
| 本腰 | ほんごし hongoshi | strenuous effort; earnestness; seriousness |
| 腰掛ける | こしかける koshikakeru | to sit (down) |
| 腰掛け | こしかけ koshikake | seat; bench; temporary job while looking for a better job or until one marries |
Study notes
腰 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #1306 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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