秒 means “second (of time)”

びょう · byou

Also: second (1/60 minute)

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ビョウ

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 3 · 9 strokes

The story

Grain (禾) and a little (少): 秒 first named the fine whisker on an ear of grain, the slightest part of the plant, and now the slightest unit on the clock. Shinkai Makoto's film 秒速5センチメートル is named for how fast cherry petals fall.

Used in 一秒 (ichibyou, one second), 秒速 (byousoku, speed per second), and 秒読み (byouyomi, countdown)

More from Counts & Comparisons

• 双 pair
• 片 one side
• 兆 trillion
• 匹 animal counter
• 軒 eaves
• 各 each
• 比 compare
• 個 individual
• 幅 width
• 般 general
• 諸 various
• 均 level

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

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