支 — “support / branch” in Japanese

Grade 5し, ささ

Radical ⽀ · radical 65 The building block this kanji is filed under

“support / branch” in Japanese is 支, read shi, sasa (し, ささ). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 支援 (support).

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What does 支 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	支
Meaning	support / branch
Readings	し, ささ
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	支援 (support)

How to read 支

支 is read shi (し) or sasa (ささ) depending on the word.

Words with 支

支援しえん
支援金しえんきん
支援策しえんさく
支払

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Updated: 2026-08-28