払 — “Pay / Clear Out / Prune / Banish” in Japanese

Master (高手)ふつ, ひつ, ほつ, はら, -はら, -ばら

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

“Pay / Clear Out / Prune / Banish” in Japanese is 払, read futsu, hitsu, hotsu (ふつ, ひつ, ほつ, はら, -はら, -ばら). 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 支払 (payment).

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What does 払 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	払
Meaning	Pay / Clear Out / Prune / Banish
Readings	ふつ, ひつ, ほつ, はら, -はら, -ばら
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	支払 (payment)

How to read 払

払 is read futsu (ふつ) or hitsu (ひつ) or hotsu (ほつ) or hara (はら) or hara (-はら) or bara (-ばら) depending on the word.

Words with 払

支払

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Kanji read the same way as 払

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

Updated: 2026-08-28