What is the Kanji for "Neck"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Neck" is "首".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Kubi".

Its onyomi reading is "Shu".

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 radical "䒑" means "Herbs" . And The kanji "自" means "Self" and can be read as "Ji", "Shi", and "Mizuka".

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

What does the kanji "首" mean in japanese?

"首" means "Neck".

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

Here are some words that use this kanji:

首: "Neck". The Japanese noun '首 (くび)' refers to the neck, the part of the body connecting the head to the shoulders. It is an essential part of the human anatomy and serves important functions such as supporting the head and allowing for movement and rotation. '首 (くび)' can be used to describe both the physical neck structure as well as the idea of the neck, such as in expressions like 'watching your neck' meaning being careful or cautious. Example sentences: She has a long, elegant neck - (彼女は長くて優雅な首だ). I injured my neck playing sports - (スポーツで首を痛めた).

首相: "Prime minister". The Japanese noun '首相 (しゅしょう)' refers to the head of government, the highest-ranking political leader of Japan. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the National Diet and is responsible for forming a cabinet and overseeing the executive branch. For example: The current prime minister of Japan is Fumio Kishida - (現在の日本の首相は岸田文雄である). The prime minister gave a press conference - (首相は記者会見をした).

足首: "Ankle". The Japanese noun '足首 (あしくび)' refers to the ankle, which is the joint between the foot and the leg. It is the area where the leg bone (tibia) meets the foot bones. The ankle is an important part of the body that allows for flexibility and movement of the foot. For example: I hurt my ankle while playing soccer - (サッカーで足首を痛めた). She has a sprained ankle - (彼女は足首を捻挫した).

首脳: "Head". The Japanese noun '首脳 (しゅのう)' means 'head' or 'leader'. It is commonly used to refer to the top-level decision-makers or executives of an organization, government, or country. For example: The heads of state met to discuss the issue - (首脳が問題について話し合った). The business leaders held a summit - (首脳が会議を開いた).

首都: "Capital". The Japanese word '首都 (しゅと)' means 'capital'. It refers to the city that serves as the seat of government and the administrative center of a country or region. Japan's capital city is Tokyo. Some examples: Tokyo is the capital of Japan - (東京は日本の首都です). The capital of China is Beijing - (中国の首都は北京です).

手首: "Wrist". The Japanese noun '手首 (てくび)' refers to the wrist, which is the part of the body located between the hand and the arm. The wrist is an important joint that allows for a wide range of motion and flexibility in the hand and fingers. For example: My wrist hurts - (手首が痛い). She broke her wrist in the accident - (彼女は事故で手首を折った).

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 "し" is read as "shi". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". And The hiragana "び" is read as "bi".

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.