Share this link via
Or copy link
Kanji for Drawing
The kanji most commonly used for "Drawing" are 絵、図、画.
絵
Kanji that mean Drawing
-
絵
picture, painting
Also associated with pattern.
Onyomi: e, kai 12 strokes Jōyō
-
図
plan, diagram, picture
Onyomi: to, zu Kunyomi: e, haka.ru 7 strokes Jōyō
-
画
picture, to plan
Also associated with to demarcate.
Onyomi: e, ga, kai, kaku Kunyomi: ega.ku, haka.ru, hakarigoto, kagi.ru, kaku.suru 8 strokes Jōyō
-
描
to draw, to describe
Onyomi: byoh Kunyomi: ega.ku, ka.ku 11 strokes Jōyō
絵 is a picture in the artistic sense — something drawn or painted to be looked at. It is the character in 絵画 (painting as an art form), 絵本 (picture book) and 浮世絵 (ukiyo-e). When a child draws, what they make is an 絵.
図 is the other kind of drawing entirely: the diagram, the plan, the map. 地図 is a map, 図面 an engineering drawing, 図表 a chart. It carries no sense of beauty and every sense of information, and it also supplies 図書館 (library) and 意図 (intention).
Two more belong in this family. 画 covers pictures and images broadly — 画家 (painter), 絵画, 映画 (film) — and also means a single stroke of a written character. 描 is the verb side: 描く, to draw or depict, is what you use for the act rather than for the object.
Before you use Drawing kanji
絵 is the safe choice for a drawing or picture. 図 reads as a diagram or map, which is probably not the intention. For the act of drawing rather than the thing drawn, 描 is the character, but it needs its okurigana (描く) to read as a verb.