駆 — “Drive / Run / Gallop / Advance” in Japanese

Master (高手)く, か

Radical ⾺ · radical 187 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Drive / Run / Gallop / Advance” in Japanese is 駆, read ku, ka (く, か). 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 駆使 (command of).

Try it now

What does 駆 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	駆
Meaning	Drive / Run / Gallop / Advance
Readings	く, か
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	駆使 (command of)

How to read 駆

駆 is read ku (く) or ka (か) depending on the word.

Words with 駆

駆使

Learn 駆 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Updated: 2026-08-28