斎 — “Purification / Buddhist Food / Room / Worship” in Japanese

Master (高手)さい, とき, つつし, ものいみ, い, いわ, いつ

Radical ⽂ · radical 67 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Purification / Buddhist Food / Room / Worship” in Japanese is 斎, read sai, toki, tsutsushi (さい, とき, つつし, ものいみ, い, いわ, いつ). 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 書斎 (study room).

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What does 斎 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	斎
Meaning	Purification / Buddhist Food / Room / Worship
Readings	さい, とき, つつし, ものいみ, い, いわ, いつ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	書斎 (study room)

How to read 斎

斎 is read sai (さい) or toki (とき) or tsutsushi (つつし) or monoimi (ものいみ) or i (い) or iwa (いわ) or itsu (いつ) depending on the word.

Words with 斎

書斎

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Kanji read the same way as 斎

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

Updated: 2026-08-28