Skip to content
Kotomora

咭

sound of laughter, sound of mice squeaking

Strokes9

Readings

On'yomi

  • キツ
  • ギチ
  • カツ
  • ケチ

Kun'yomi

—

Meaning

咭 centers on high-pitched, repetitive vocal sounds: laughter or the squeaking of mice. Both meanings share the idea of a sharp, staccato noise produced by a mouth.

Study

Etymology

咭 combines 口 (mouth) with 吉, which likely contributes the sound. The character is used to represent sharp, repetitive mouth sounds such as laughter or squeaking.

Meaning mnemonic

A mouth 口 making a lucky 吉 sound: imagine someone laughing so hard they feel lucky, or a mouse squeaking happily over a piece of cheese.

Reading mnemonic

For キツ, picture a mouse squeaking so sharply it sounds like a quick 'kits!' — the kits sound cues キツ while the mouse squeaks through the mouth 口.