吸 — “to inhale / to suck” in Japanese

Grade 6きゅう, す

Radical ⼝ · radical 30 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to inhale / to suck” in Japanese is 吸, read kyuu, su (きゅう, す). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 呼吸 (respiration).

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What does 吸 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	吸
Meaning	to inhale / to suck
Readings	きゅう, す
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	呼吸 (respiration)

How to read 吸

吸 is read kyuu (きゅう) or su (す) depending on the word.

Words with 吸

呼吸こきゅう
吸収きゅうしゅう

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Kanji read the same way as 吸

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Updated: 2026-08-28