自 — “self / oneself” in Japanese

Grade 2じ, し, みずか

Radical ⾃ · radical 132 The building block this kanji is filed under

“self / oneself” in Japanese is 自, read ji, shi, mizuka (じ, し, みずか). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 自転車 (bicycle).

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What does 自 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	自
Meaning	self / oneself
Readings	じ, し, みずか
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	自転車 (bicycle)

How to read 自

自 is read ji (じ) or shi (し) or mizuka (みずか) depending on the word.

Words with 自

自然しぜん
自分じぶん
自由じゆう
自信じしん
自動じどう
独自どくじ
自動車じどうしゃ
自衛隊じえいたい
自転車じてんしゃ
自然保護しぜんほご

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Updated: 2026-08-28