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Kanji Detail for 士 - "gentleman, scholar, samurai"

士

  • Meaning

    士 means "gentleman, scholar, samurai." Also associated with man.

    1. Man - An adult male.

    2. Official - A government servant; a civil officer.

    3. Scholar - A person of learning and virtue.

    4. Warrior - A noble person; a samurai.

    5. Profession - A specialized occupation.

  • Words using 士

    • 弁護士 べんごし Listen lawyer; attorney
    • 兵士 へいし Listen soldier
    • 同士 どうし Listen fellow; mutual; companion
    • 博士 はかせ Listen expert; learned person; doctor
    • 力士 りきし Listen sumo wrestler; rikishi; strong man
    • 紳士 しんし Listen gentleman
    • 代議士 だいぎし Listen parliamentarian; member of a congress
    • 宇宙飛行士 うちゅうひこうし Listen astronaut

  • Four-character idioms with 士

    • 一言居士 いちげんこじ Listen person who is ready to comment on every subject; ready critic
    • 国士無双 こくしむそう Listen distinguished person; thirteen orphans
    • 士気阻喪 しきそそう Listen demoralization; collapse of morale; one's morale being shaken
    • 士気高揚 しきこうよう Listen raising morale; lifting of morale
    • 士農工商 しのうこうしょう Listen hierarchy of samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants in Edo society
    • 士魂商才 しこんしょうさい Listen having a samurai's spirit and a merchant's business sense

  • Origin of 士

    A pictograph — by one account a ceremonial axe-head standing upright, the emblem of the man entitled to bear arms; by another, an adult male standing at attention. The gentleman-warrior, and the scholar-official both.

    How to remember it: An upright axe-head, or a man standing to attention — either way, the one who serves with honour: the samurai-scholar.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 士

    • Verified meaning: gentleman, scholar, samurai
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あきら, おさむ, かつひと, つかさ)
    • Also carries these associations: man

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 士

    Given names 士(あきら)Listen 士(おさむ)Listen 士(かつひと)Listen 士(つかさ)Listen 士(つこう)Listen 士(といち)Listen

    Surnames 士(まもり)Listen 士(まもる)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    gentleman; scholar; samurai; samurai radical (no. 33)

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    scholar, gentleman; soldier

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Shi

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    scholar, gentleman; soldier

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    One who studies. Hence also used as an academic title. Such as 學士 (bachelor), 博士 (doctor). | An ancient official title. Below grand masters, there were 上士, 中士, 下士. Also, judicial officials were called 士師, abbreviated as 士. Later judicial officials. | Soldiers. Such as 甲士 (armored soldier), 戰士 (warrior). | A general term for men. Women with scholar's conduct are called 女士. See (Book of Odes).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    shi(シ) シ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    samurai(さむらい) さむらい

  • Strokes

    tip

    3 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    士 (samurai)

  • Related Keywords

    gentleman scholar samurai adult male duty official qualified person warrior bravery chivalry courage honor knight soldier nobility

Sentences including 士

  • I don't believe he is a lawyer.

  • I doubt if he is a lawyer.

  • He has married his daughter to a young lawyer.

  • Soldiers are used to danger.

  • The soldier gave water to me.

  • Isn't he an american gentleman?

  • A gentleman is always kind to others.

  • A gentleman would not say such a thing.

  • We'll always be friends.

  • I met a certain gentleman at the station.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 士 (samurai)

See all kanji with this radical →

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