Kanji 士: gentleman, scholar, samurai, samurai radical (no. 33)
Kanji 士: gentleman, scholar, samurai, samurai radical (no. 33). Readings and core meaning.
See vocabulary and examples below.
Kanji at a glance
Core meaning / core image
gentleman, scholar, samurai, samurai radical (no. 33)
Kanji structure breakdown
Mnemonic story
This character depicts a scholar or a warrior standing tall with broad shoulders. The top horizontal line is longer than the bottom one, distinguishing it from the character for earth (土). It is commonly used to refer to people with professional status or qualifications, such as in the words for gentleman (紳士) or doctor (博士).