負
負 — Defeat
defeat, negative, -, minus, bear, owe
On’yomiフ (fu)
Kun’yomiまける (makeru)
Kun’yomiまかす (makasu)
Kun’yomiおう (ou)
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 負
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 負担 | ふたん futan | burden; load; responsibility |
| 勝負 | しょうぶ shoubu | victory or defeat; match; contest |
| 負け | まけ make | defeat; loss; losing (a game) |
| 負債 | ふさい fusai | debt; liabilities |
| 抱負 | ほうふ houfu | aspiration; ambition; plan |
| 負傷 | ふしょう fushou | injury; wound |
Study notes
負 is a JLPT N3 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 #443 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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