Radical 19 of 20 · つくり · right

攵 : action

Doing something to make a change: teaching, releasing, rescuing, scattering, counting.

Heads 12 of the 1026 kanji taught in Japanese primary school.

字源 · WHY THIS SHAPE

From a picture to 攵

  1. 1. The picture

    A hand holding a stick, tapping or striking something.

  2. 2. Simplified on the right

    Later it was written more simply as 攵. It looks like 文, so it is often called のぶん, “the 文 shape”.

Origins follow the commonly taught explanations. Where scholars disagree, we say so.

What the family is about

Doing something to make a change: teaching, releasing, rescuing, scattering, counting.

  • 教teach
  • 放set free
  • 改reformation
  • 救salvation

When the hint fails

The meaning link is loose. Think of it as “something is being made to happen”.

  • 数number
  • 政politics

The 攵 family, grade by grade

Every primary-school kanji filed under 攵. Tap one to see its meaning.

Grade 2 · 2

  • 数number, strength
  • 教teach, faith

Grade 3 · 2

  • 放set free, release
  • 整organize, arranging

Grade 4 · 3

  • 改reformation, change
  • 敗failure, defeat
  • 散scatter, disperse

Grade 5 · 3

  • 政politics, government
  • 故happenstance, especially
  • 救salvation, save

Grade 6 · 2

  • 敬awe, respect
  • 敵enemy, foe

Family: kanji whose classical radical in KANJIDIC2 is 攴 (no. 66). KANJIDIC2 © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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