級 means “grade, class, rank”

きゅう · kyuu

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キュウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 3 · 9 strokes

The story

Thread (糸) reaching (及) up level by level, like knots on a rope ladder: 級 is rank. 同級生 are classmates, 高級 is high-class, and the 漢検 kanji test is climbed 級 by 級, from 10級 up to 1級.

Used in 高級 (koukyuu, high-class/luxury), 同級生 (doukyuusei, classmate), and 上級 (joukyuu, advanced level)

More from Order & Rank

• 序 order
• 斉 all together
• 秩 order
• 衡 balance
• 逓 relay
• 逐 pursue
• 頓 tidy
• 汰 weed out
• 率 rate
• 整 arrange

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

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