手 — “hand” in Japanese

Grade 1しゅ, て, た

Radical ⼿ · radical 64 The building block this kanji is filed under

“hand” in Japanese is 手, read shu, te, ta (しゅ, て, た). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 上手 (skillful).

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What does 手 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	手
Meaning	hand
Readings	しゅ, て, た
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	上手 (skillful)

How to read 手

手 is read shu (しゅ) or te (て) or ta (た) depending on the word.

Words with 手

相手あいて
選手せんしゅ
若手わかて
上手じょうず
手本てほん
手引てび
右手
左手
歌手
手紙

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Kanji read the same way as 手

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28