個 means “individual, piece”

こ · ko

Also: counter for articles

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コ, カ

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 5 · 10 strokes

The story

A person (亻) standing firm (固): one solid individual. 個 counts small things, 卵を一個 for one egg, 個人 is an individual, and the 個室 at an izakaya is a private room for your group alone.

Used in 個人 (kojin, individual), 個性 (kosei, individuality/personality), and 一個 (ikko, one piece)

More from Counts & Comparisons

• 幅 width
• 般 general
• 諸 various
• 均 level
• 億 hundred million
• 普 ordinary
• 枚 sheet
• 秒 second (of time)
• 双 pair
• 片 one side
• 兆 trillion
• 匹 animal counter

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