Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 追

Level:N3 High
Strokes:9
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji primarily means "to chase," "to follow," or "to pursue." It implies the action of going after something or someone, with the intention of catching up, reaching, or obtaining it. It also conveys the sense of adding something later or supplementing.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ツイ (tsui) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): おう (ou - to chase, to pursue)

Usage Examples

⚫︎ 犯人を Translation: To chase a criminal. ⚫︎ 夢を Translation: To pursue a dream. ⚫︎ 加料金 Translation: Additional charge.

Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a radical called 辶 (しんにょう - shinnnyou), which indicates movement, related to road or walking. The right side is 隹 (ふるとり - futori), which is a component that represents a short-tailed bird. Originally, the right side may have acted as the phonetic component, suggesting the sound "tsui." The combination represents the act of following, chasing, or pursuing something that moves, like the action of following a bird.

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