草
草 — Grass
grass, weeds, herbs, pasture, write, draft
On’yomiソウ (sou)
Kun’yomiくさ (kusa)
Kun’yomiくさ- (kusa)
Kun’yomi-ぐさ (gusa)
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 草
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 草 | くさ kusa | grass; weed; herb |
| 草案 | そうあん souan | draft (for a speech, bill, etc.) |
| 草の根 | くさのね kusanone | roots of grass; places hidden from sight; grassroots (e.g. of a political party) |
| 草原 | そうげん sougen | grassy field; grassland; meadow |
| 起草 | きそう kisou | drafting (e.g. a bill); drawing up |
| 草分け | くさわけ kusawake | pathfinder; trailblazer; early settler |
Study notes
草 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #967 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).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.