勤 — “diligent / to work” in Japanese

Grade 6きん, ごん, つと

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

“diligent / to work” in Japanese is 勤, read kin, gon, tsuto (きん, ごん, つと). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 勤務 (work).

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What does 勤 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	勤
Meaning	diligent / to work
Readings	きん, ごん, つと
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	勤務 (work)

How to read 勤

勤 is read kin (きん) or gon (ごん) or tsuto (つと) depending on the word.

Words with 勤

勤務

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Kanji read the same way as 勤

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

Updated: 2026-08-28