noun
reading and writing; literacy
Refers to the combined skills of reading and writing, often in the context of basic education or literacy.
子どもに読み書きを教える。
I teach children reading and writing.
彼は読み書きができない。
He cannot read or write.
Standard kanji spelling; the word is almost always written this way.
識字 is a more formal term for literacy, often used in official or academic contexts, while 読み書き is the everyday word for the basic skills of reading and writing.
Compound of 読み (yomi, 'reading') and 書き (kaki, 'writing'), the nominalized forms of 読む (yomu) and 書く (kaku).