侍 — Waiter / Samurai / Wait Upon / Serve

Master (高手)じ, し, さむらい, はべ

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

侍 (readings: じ, し, さむらい, はべ; Japanese kanji) means “Waiter / Samurai / Wait Upon / Serve”. It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 侍 (samurai).

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What does 侍 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	侍
Meaning	Waiter / Samurai / Wait Upon / Serve
Readings	じ, し, さむらい, はべ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	侍 (samurai)

How to read 侍

侍 is read じ or し or さむらい or はべ depending on the word.

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Updated: 2026-07-22