椎 — “Chinquapin / Mallet / Spine” in Japanese

Master (高手)つい, すい, つち, う

Radical ⽊ · radical 75 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Chinquapin / Mallet / Spine” in Japanese is 椎, read tsui, sui, tsuchi (つい, すい, つち, う). 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 脊椎 (spine).

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What does 椎 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	椎
Meaning	Chinquapin / Mallet / Spine
Readings	つい, すい, つち, う
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	脊椎 (spine)

How to read 椎

椎 is read tsui (つい) or sui (すい) or tsuchi (つち) or u (う) depending on the word.

Words with 椎

脊椎

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Kanji read the same way as 椎

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

Updated: 2026-08-28