What is the Kanji for "Engrave"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Engrave", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Engrave" is "刻".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Kiza".

Its onyomi reading is "Koku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The component "亥" . And The radical "刂" means "Sword" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "刻" mean in japanese?

"刻" means "Engrave".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Sixth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

遅刻: "Lateness". The Japanese verbal noun '遅刻 (ちこく)' means 'lateness'. It refers to the state or act of being late or tardy, especially when arriving to a scheduled event or appointment. This word is commonly used to express when someone has failed to arrive on time. For example: I apologize for my lateness - (遅刻してすみませんでした). He was late for the meeting - (彼は会議に遅刻しました).

時刻: "Time". The noun '時刻 (じこく)' refers to a specific point in time, such as a particular hour and minute. It is used to indicate the precise moment when something occurs or when an event takes place. For example: What time is it? - (何時ですか). The train will depart at 6:30 - (列車は6時30分に出発します).

深刻: "Serious". The Japanese adjective '深刻 (しんこく)' means 'serious'. It is used to describe a situation, problem, or condition that is grave, critical, or severe in nature. It implies a sense of urgency and importance, and suggests that the issue at hand requires immediate attention and action. For example: The situation is serious - (状況は深刻だ). This is a serious problem - (これは深刻な問題だ).

刻む: "Carve" or "Engrave". The verb '刻む (きざむ)' means 'to carve' or 'to engrave'. This verb is used to describe the action of cutting, chiseling, or etching a design or pattern into a hard surface such as wood, stone, or metal. It can be used to create decorative designs, inscriptions, or to shape an object. For example: The artist carved the statue - (彫刻家は彫像を刻んだ). The words were engraved on the tombstone - (その言葉は墓石に刻まれていた).

彫刻: "Sculpture". The Japanese noun '彫刻 (ちょうこく)' refers to the art of creating three-dimensional works of art by carving, modeling, or assembling materials such as stone, wood, metal, or clay. It encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques, from classical statues to modern abstract forms. Sculptors use various tools and methods to shape and refine their creations, often with great skill and attention to detail. Examples: This museum has a beautiful collection of traditional Japanese sculptures - (この美術館には伝統的な日本の彫刻の素晴らしい収集品がある). The artist is renowned for their intricate bronze sculptures - (その芸術家は繊細な青銅の彫刻で有名である).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "こ" is read as "ko". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". The hiragana "き" is read as "ki". And The hiragana "ざ" is read as "za".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.