剥 — “Come Off / Peel / Fade / Discolor” in Japanese

Master (高手)はく, ほく, へ, へず, む, は

Radical ⼑ · radical 18 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Come Off / Peel / Fade / Discolor” in Japanese is 剥, read haku, hoku, he (はく, ほく, へ, へず, む, は). 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 剥がす (to peel off).

Try it now

What does 剥 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	剥
Meaning	Come Off / Peel / Fade / Discolor
Readings	はく, ほく, へ, へず, む, は
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	剥がす (to peel off)

How to read 剥

剥 is read haku (はく) or hoku (ほく) or he (へ) or hezu (へず) or mu (む) or ha (は) depending on the word.

Words with 剥

剥がす

Learn 剥 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 剥

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28