竹 means “bamboo”

たけ · take

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): たけ
On'yomi (Chinese reading): チク

Taught in grade 1 · 6 strokes

The story

Bamboo groves whisper ancient secrets, flexible yet strong, a meditation on resilience.

Symbol of growth and prosperity in Japanese culture

Where it comes from

Pictographic (象形文字): Two bamboo stalks with drooping leaves.

The ancient form drew two bamboo stalks side by side, each with leaves drooping downward. The modern 竹 preserves this perfectly: the left and right halves are mirror images of a bamboo stalk with its characteristic hanging leaves.

To remember it: Two bamboo stalks standing side by side, leaves hanging down. The diagonal strokes are the drooping leaves.

Its parts

竹 Bamboo · Entire character

A pictograph of two bamboo stalks with drooping leaves

Example sentences

竹林を歩きました。 I walked through a bamboo grove.
竹は成長が早いです。 Bamboo grows quickly.

Kanji that look like 竹

笹 (bamboo grass): 笹 adds 世 under the bamboo radical: a specific type of bamboo

More from Nature's Poetry

Learn 竹 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji