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舌
Kyōiku Kanji

舌 — “tongue” in Japanese

Grade 5ぜつ, した
Radical ⾆ · radical 135 The building block this kanji is filed under

“tongue” in Japanese is 舌, read zetsu, shita (ぜつ, した). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 舌打ち (clicking the tongue).

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What does 舌 mean?

Full details, readings & example
Kanji舌
Meaningtongue
Readingsぜつ, した
GradeGrade 5 (Hard)
CurriculumKyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example舌打ち (clicking the tongue)

How to read 舌

舌 is read zetsu (ぜつ) or shita (した) depending on the word.

Words with 舌

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Kanji read the same way as 舌

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

Updated: 2026-08-28
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