What is the Kanji for "Left"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Left" is "左".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Hidari".

Its onyomi reading is "Sa".

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 kanji "工" means "Construction" and can be read as "Ku" and "Kou". And The radical "𠂇" means "Cliff" .

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

What does the kanji "左" mean in japanese?

"左" means "Left".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in First Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N5 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

左: "Left". The noun '左 (ひだり)' means 'left'. This refers to the side of the body that is opposite the right side. It can be used to describe the direction, position, or orientation of something. For example: Turn left - (左に曲がる). My left hand - (私の左手).

左右: "Left and right" or "Both sides". The Japanese noun '左右 (さゆう)' refers to the left and right sides or directions. It can be used to describe the two sides of something, or the opposing directions. '左右' often implies considering multiple perspectives or aspects of a situation. For example: I will consider the matter from both sides - (この問題を左右から検討する). The left and right sides of the road - (道路の左右).

左手: "Left hand". The noun '左手 (ひだりて)' refers to the left hand of a person. It is used to describe the hand on the left side of the body. This word is commonly used in directions, when describing the position of an object, or when discussing which hand is being used for a particular task. For example: I write with my left hand - (私は左手で書きます)。The treasure is in the left hand box - (宝物は左手のボックスにあります).

左利き: "Left-handedness". The noun '左利き (ひだりきき)' means 'left-handedness'. This term refers to the condition of being left-handed, where the left hand is the dominant hand used for most manual tasks. Left-handedness is relatively rare, occurring in only about 10% of the population. It is often considered a biological trait that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Left-handed people may face some challenges in a right-handed world, but many adapt well and utilize their unique abilities. For example: I'm left-handed, so using scissors can be tricky - (私は左利きなので、はさみを使うのが難しいです).

左側: "Left side". The noun '左側 (ひだりがわ)' refers to the left side or left-hand side of something. It is used to describe the position or location of an object or person in relation to the left direction. For example: My car is parked on the left side - (私の車は左側に停まっている). Turn left at the intersection - (交差点で左側に曲がる).

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 "ひ" is read as "hi". The hiragana "だ" is read as "da". The hiragana "り" is read as "ri". And The hiragana "さ" is read as "sa".

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.