負 — “to lose / to bear” in Japanese

Grade 3ふ, ま, お

Radical ⾙ · radical 154 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to lose / to bear” in Japanese is 負, read fu, ma, o (ふ, ま, お). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 負担 (burden).

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What does 負 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	負
Meaning	to lose / to bear
Readings	ふ, ま, お
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	負担 (burden)

How to read 負

負 is read fu (ふ) or ma (ま) or o (お) depending on the word.

Words with 負

負傷ふしょう
勝負しょうぶ
負担

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Updated: 2026-08-28