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KanjiGrade 1 › 左
Kyōiku Kanji

左 — left

Grade 1さ, ひだり

左 (readings: さ, ひだり; Japanese kanji) means “left”. It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 左手 (left hand).

What does 左 mean?

Kanji
Meaningleft
Readingsさ, ひだり
GradeGrade 1 (Easiest)
CurriculumKyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school

How to read 左

左 is read or ひだり depending on the word.

Example words with 左

Example左手 (left hand)
Practice writing 左 — free
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Updated: 2026-07-14