N5 kanji · 4 strokes
友 means friend
友
ナ a hand · 又 another hand
友Real origin
Two hands joined together: friend.
Real origin: where the kanji comes from, as far as scholars agree.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- friend
- JLPT level
- N5
- Strokes
- 4
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) とも tomo
とも (tomo) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
From Chinese (onyomi) ユウ yuu
ユウ (yuu) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
友人 ゆうじん · yuujin
friend
Built from
- 一 one
- 丿 a sweeping stroke
- 又 hand
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
又 Used in 92 kanji
See all 5 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 友 mean?
Right: 友 means friend.Not quite: 友 means friend.In 友人, which reading does 友 use?
Right. 友人 is read ゆうじん (yuujin): 友 takes ユウ, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 友人 is read ゆうじん (yuujin): 友 takes ユウ, its reading from Chinese.