丁 means “block, counter, nail”

ちょう · chou

Also: street, ward, town, counter for guns, tools, leaves or cakes of something

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): ひのと
On'yomi (Chinese reading): チョウ, テイ, チン, トウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 3 · 2 strokes

The story

Drawn as a nail: a flat head on a straight shank. 丁 numbers city blocks in addresses, as in 3丁目; tofu is counted in 丁; a ramen shop calls out ラーメン一丁, one ramen coming up; and 丁寧 is polite.

Used in 丁寧 (teinei, polite/careful), 丁目 (choume, city block number), and 包丁 (houchou, kitchen knife)

丁 means “block, counter, nail”

The story

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