粛 means “solemn, restrained”

しゅく · shuku

Also: quietly, softly

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): つつしむ
On'yomi (Chinese reading): シュク, スク

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A hand holding a brush, as at the top of 書, over a careful pattern: picture a calligrapher holding still before the stroke. 粛 is solemn restraint: 静粛に asks a hall for silence, and 自粛 is the self-restraint Japan practiced through the pandemic.

Used in 自粛 (jishuku, self-restraint), 静粛 (seishuku, silence/hush), and 粛々と (shukushuku to, solemnly/steadily)

粛 means “solemn, restrained”

The story

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