Radical 11 of 20 · つくり · right
刂 りっとう: knife
Cutting, splitting, carving and printing.
Heads 19 of the 1026 kanji taught in Japanese primary school.
字源 · WHY THIS SHAPE
From a picture to 刂
- 1. The picture
A knife or sword: the curved blade with the handle at the top.
- 2. Standing on the right
On the right side the knife stands up as two vertical strokes. The name りっとう means “standing knife”.
Origins follow the commonly taught explanations. Where scholars disagree, we say so.
What the family is about
Cutting, splitting, carving and printing.
- 別separate
- 割proportion
- 刻engrave
- 刷printing
When the hint fails
前 (in front) is filed under 刀 only because of its shape.
- 前in front
The 刂 family, grade by grade
Every primary-school kanji filed under 刂. Tap one to see its meaning.
Grade 2小2 · 4
分
part, minute of time前
in front, before切
cut, cutoff刀
sword, saber
Grade 3小3 · 1
列
file, row
Grade 4小4 · 5
初
first time, beginning利
profit, advantage別
separate, branch off副
vice-, assistant刷
printing, print
Grade 5小5 · 4
制
system, law判
judgement, judgment則
rule, law刊
publish, carve
Grade 6小6 · 5
割
proportion, comparatively券
ticket劇
drama, play創
genesis, wound刻
engrave, cut fine
Family: kanji whose classical radical in KANJIDIC2 is 刀 (no. 18). KANJIDIC2 © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.