One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.

Share this page

Kanji Detail for 竹 - "bamboo, bamboo tablets"

  • Meaning

    竹 means "bamboo, bamboo tablets."

    1. Bamboo - A perennial grass plant of the family Poaceae.

    2. Wind instrument - Musical instruments made of bamboo; one of the eight sounds.

    3. Bamboo tablet - Books written on bamboo slips.

  • Words using

    • 爆竹 ばくちく Listen firecracker
  • Origin of

    A pictograph of two bamboo stalks side by side, their leaves drooping from the tips — drawn from life and barely changed since.

    How to remember it: Two stalks, leaves hanging like banners — bamboo sketched exactly as it grows.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check:

    • Verified meaning: bamboo, bamboo tablets
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read たけ, たけさき, たけざき, たけすえ)

    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

    Given names (たけ)Listen

    Surnames (たけさき)Listen (たけざき)Listen (たけすえ)Listen (たけたか)Listen (たけはな)Listen (たけまつ)Listen (ちくさき)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    bamboo

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    bamboo; flute; Kangxi radical 118

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    (bound form) bamboo; Kangxi radical 118

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    bamboo; flute

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

    A perennial plant. There are many varieties. Tall ones are four to five zhang. Round and straight. Hollow inside with nodes. Firm and pliable. Can be made into various implements. Leaves are shaped like arrowheads. With parallel veins. In spring, shoots sprout from the roots to become bamboo shoots. When tender, they are eaten. | Ancients wrote characters on bamboo slips. Hence used as a term for books. Such as saying "name passed down on bamboo and silk." This is it. | One of the eight sounds. Musical instruments like flutes and pipes. Made from bamboo.
  • Onyomi

    tip
  • Kunyomi

    tip
  • Strokes

    tip
  • Radical

    tip
  • Related Keywords

Sentences including

  • Bamboo bends before the wind.

  • Bamboo stands out in the woods.

  • He and I are childhood friends.

  • There's bamboo growing in the garden.

  • Pandas love bamboo.

  • I made a table out of bamboo.

  • Pandas live in bamboo thickets.

  • Mariya Takeuchi sings this song.

  • Pandas live in bamboo groves.

  • The bamboo is bending with the weight of the snow.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

Share this link via

Or copy link