JLPT level N5
Kanji 三 — "Three"
Here is what 三 means, how it is read, what it is built from, and a story that makes "Three" stick.
How it is read
On'yomi
さん
the reading borrowed from Chinese — usually appears in compound words
Kun'yomi
みっつ
the native Japanese reading — usually appears when the kanji stands alone
What it is made of
How to remember it
Kanji are not random strokes. Learn the parts and the whole becomes easy. Put the parts together into one picture. The stranger it is, the harder it is to forget.
⼀ One
三 Three
The story
Three One lines stacked up make Three — easy!
- ⼀ One
A single stroke counts as the number One, see? Japanese is that simple!
Words that use 三
8 of 8 words in the app that contain this kanji — the most common ones first.
- 三 さん three
- 三味線 しゃみせん three-stringed Japanese guitar
- 三つ みっつ three things
- 三日 みっか 3rd day, 3 days
- 三角 さんかく triangle, triangular
- 再三 さいさん again and again, repeatedly
- 三日月 みかづき crescent moon
- 大江健三郎 おおえけんざぶろう Japanese novelist
Want 三 to still be there next month?
Reading it once is not remembering it. The app brings each kanji back right before you would have forgotten it.
