締 means “tighten, fasten, close”

しめる · shimeru

Also: tie, shut, lock

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

しまる, しまり, しめる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

テイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

Thread (糸) pulled tight by an emperor (帝): picture a royal sash cinched hard. 締める is to tighten, from a necktie to a seatbelt, 締め切り is the deadline, and a 取締役 is a company director, the one who keeps a tight rein.

Used in 締め切り (shimekiri, deadline), 締める (shimeru, to tighten/fasten), and 取締役 (torishimariyaku, company director)

More from Ropes & Knots

• 繰 reel
• 括 bundle
• 綱 rope
• 索 search
• 鎖 chain
• 絞 wring
• 縛 bind
• 結 tie
• 維 fiber

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

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