努 — “endeavor / strive” in Japanese

Grade 4ど, つと

Radical ⼒ · radical 19 The building block this kanji is filed under

“endeavor / strive” in Japanese is 努, read do, tsuto (ど, つと). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 努力 (effort).

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What does 努 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	努
Meaning	endeavor / strive
Readings	ど, つと
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	努力 (effort)

How to read 努

努 is read do (ど) or tsuto (つと) depending on the word.

Words with 努

努力どりょく

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Kanji read the same way as 努

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Updated: 2026-08-28