朽 means “decay, rot”

くちる · kuchiru

Also: remain in seclusion

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

くちる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キュウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 6 strokes

The story

A tree (木) beside a bent, broken stroke (丂): wood sagging as it rots. 朽ちる is to decay, 老朽化 is buildings and bridges aging past safety, a constant Japanese news topic, and 不朽 is undying, as in a 不朽の名作, a timeless classic.

Used in 朽ちる (kuchiru, to rot/decay), 老朽化 (roukyuuka, aging/deterioration), and 不朽 (fukyuu, immortal/everlasting)

More from Crumble & Ruin

• 毀 damage
• 潰 crush
• 綻 come apart
• 壊 break
• 崩 crumble
• 削 shave
• 裂 tear
• 陥 fall into
• 滅 perish
• 腐 rot
• 砕 smash

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

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.