却 — Instead / On The Contrary / Rather / Step Back

Master (高手)きゃく, かえ, しりぞ

Radical ⼙ · radical 26 The building block this kanji is filed under

却 (readings: きゃく, かえ, しりぞ; Japanese kanji) means “Instead / On The Contrary / Rather / Step Back”. 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 却下 (rejection).

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What does 却 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	却
Meaning	Instead / On The Contrary / Rather / Step Back
Readings	きゃく, かえ, しりぞ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	却下 (rejection)

How to read 却

却 is read きゃく or かえ or しりぞ depending on the word.

Words with 却

却下bác bỏ

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Updated: 2026-07-22