裁 — “to judge / to cut cloth” in Japanese

Grade 6さい, た, さば

Radical ⾐ · radical 145 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to judge / to cut cloth” in Japanese is 裁, read sai, ta, saba (さい, た, さば). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 裁判 (trial).

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What does 裁 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	裁
Meaning	to judge / to cut cloth
Readings	さい, た, さば
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	裁判 (trial)

How to read 裁

裁 is read sai (さい) or ta (た) or saba (さば) depending on the word.

Words with 裁

裁判
裁縫

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Updated: 2026-08-28