之
of, this
Readings
On'yomi
- シ
Kun'yomi
- の
- これ
- ゆく
- この
Nanori
- ゆき
- いたる
- あき
- つな
- ゆみ
- くに
- のぶ
- ひさ
- ひで
Meaning
之 is a grammatical kanji that marks possession or reference, roughly equivalent to 'of' or 'this'. Its meaning is entirely relational and does not describe a concrete object or action.
Most common words using 之
20 of 22- 須佐之男すさのお
Susanoo (deity, younger brother to Amaterasu); Susanoo-no-Mikoto
- 実業之日本社じつぎょうのにほんしゃ
Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. (name of a publishing company)
- 之字運動のじうんどう
zig-zag motion (esp. warship)
- 之繞しんにょう
kanji "road" or "advance" radical (radical 162)
- 之繞を掛けるしんにゅうをかける
to exaggerate
- 加之しかのみならず
not only ... but also; also
- 匪石之心ひせきのこころ
steadfastness; firmness in one's conviction; having a heart that does not change as easily as a stone rolls about
- 合点承知之助がってんしょうちのすけ
got it; roger; leave it to me
- 始馭天下之天皇はつくにしらすすめらみこと
first emperor to rule the land (title bestowed upon Emperor Jimmu on his coronation)
- 山之内製薬やまのうちせいやく
Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical (now Astellas Pharma)
- 断じて行えば鬼神も之を避くだんじておこなえばきしんもこれをさく
where there's a will, there's a way
- 火之夜芸速男神ひのやぎはやおのかみ
Kagutsuchi; fire deity who burned to death his mother Izanami during childbirth (and was therefore beheaded by his father Izanagi)
- 燃犀之明ねんさいのめい
extraordinary perceptiveness; sharp insight
- 眼鏡黐之魚めがねもちのうお
humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus); Napoleon wrasse; Napoleonfish; Maori wrasse
- 管鮑之交かんぽうのまじわり
inseparable friendship
- 美之主貝びのすがい
Mercenaria stimpsoni (species of Venus clam)
- 西之島箒蟹にしのしまほうきがに
Xenograpsus novaeinsularis (crab species)
- 遅かりし由良之助おそかりしゆらのすけ
to let a chance to do something slip through one's fingers
- 長之助草ちょうのすけそう
mountain avens (Dryas octopetala); eightpetal mountain-avens; white dryas; white dryad
- 隠熊之実かくれくまのみ
Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Study
Etymology
之 originated as a pictograph of a foot or a sprout emerging from the ground, later borrowed for its sound to serve as a grammatical particle. The modern form is highly abstract and no longer clearly depicts the original image.
Meaning mnemonic
The shape of 之 looks like a zigzag path or a mark pointing to something. Think of it as a pointer that says 'of this' or 'belonging to this'.
Reading mnemonic
For シ, imagine a shepherd's crook marking ownership: 'sheep' -> シ, and the crook points to the sheep that are 'of' the shepherd.