Kanji 千: thousand

Key takeaways

Kanji 千: thousand. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

千

Meaning

thousand

On reading

セン

Kun reading

ち

Radical

十

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 千

thousand

Kanji structure breakdown

千

Structure breakdown

丿 + 十

Mnemonic story

By adding a single stroke (丿) on top of the number ten (十), it represents the much larger number 1,000. Imagine tens being stacked or multiplied many times to reach a thousand.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

セン

千せん
thousand (number)

Kun reading

ち

千切るちぎる
to tear up / to cut finely

Commonly used words

千
せん
thousand (number)
千切る
ちぎる
to tear up / to cut finely

Example sentences

Example 1

紙を小さく千切ってください。

Translation

Please tear the paper into small pieces.

Example 2

りんごを千切ってサラダに入れた。

Translation

I cut up the apple and added it to the salad.

Example 3

この町には千人がいます。

Translation

There are a thousand people in this town.

Example 4

千円でパンを買いました。

Translation

I bought bread for a thousand yen.

Kanji 千: thousand

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Kun reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

千切る (ちぎる): meaning and examples

千 (せん): meaning and examples