ChiramiHow to tell left from right in Japanese (左 右)
In Japanese, right is 右 (migi) and left is 左 (hidari). The two kanji share the same top, a hand, and differ only underneath: 右 has 口, a mouth, and 左 has 工, a tool. A handy way to keep them apart: your right hand is the one you eat with, and your left is the one that holds the tool.
What the kanji say
The top, ナ, is a hand. In the oldest Chinese writing, “right” was simply a drawing of a right hand, and “left” was the same drawing flipped: a left hand.
口 in 右 is a mouth. 工 in 左 is a tool; it began as a picture of a tool with a blade.
Where they really come from
The mouth and the tool weren’t part of the first pictures. They were added later, in bronze inscriptions, and nobody is completely sure why. One suggestion for 右 is that the bare hand was also being used to write other words, such as “again”, and 口 helped mark which word was meant.
Both words could also mean “to help”, much as English speaks of a right-hand man. That meaning lives on in two related kanji, 佑 and 佐, which both mean to help.
So “the hand you eat with” and “the hand that holds the tool” are memory aids, not history. They’re very good ones, though, and they fit the shapes exactly.
Even the first stroke is different
In Japanese stroke order, 右 starts with the sweeping stroke, ノ, and then the horizontal line. 左 starts with the horizontal line, and then the sweep. A handy rule of thumb: in 右 the sweep is short and the line is long, while in 左 the line is short and the sweep is long. In both, the shorter stroke goes first. Tap Draw it on the cards below to watch.
How to use them
次の角を右に曲がってください。
Tsugi no kado o migi ni magatte kudasai.
Please turn right at the next corner.
駅は左にあります。
Eki wa hidari ni arimasu.
The station is on the left.
私は左利きです。
Watashi wa hidarikiki desu.
I'm left-handed.
左右をよく見て渡ってね。
Sayuu o yoku mite watatte ne.
Look both ways before you cross.
- 左右 (sayuu) is “left and right”, in that order. It’s also how you say “both ways” when crossing a road.
- In compound words they use readings borrowed from Chinese: 右折 (usetsu), a right turn, and 左折 (sasetsu), a left turn, which you’ll see on road signs and in driving directions.
- 右手 (migite) is your right hand, but it can also mean “on the right”: tour guides say 右手に見えますのは… (migite ni miemasu no wa…), “on your right, you can see…”.
- Japan drives on the left, and a sign saying 左側通行 (hidarigawa tsuukou) means “keep left”.
Words with the same kanji
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 右手 | migite | right hand; on the right |
| 左手 | hidarite | left hand; on the left |
| 左右 | sayuu | left and right |
| 左利き | hidarikiki | left-handed; a left-hander |
| 右折 | usetsu | right turn |
| 左折 | sasetsu | left turn |
Remember it
Right hand to mouth (右): you’re eating. Left hand on the tool (左): you’re working. And whichever stroke is shorter goes first.
The kanji in this lesson
Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.