髄 — “Marrow / Pith / Essence” in Japanese

Master (高手)ずい

Radical ⾻ · radical 188 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Marrow / Pith / Essence” in Japanese is 髄, read zui (ずい). 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 骨髄 (bone marrow).

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What does 髄 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	髄
Meaning	Marrow / Pith / Essence
Readings	ずい
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	骨髄 (bone marrow)

How to read 髄

髄 is read zui (ずい) depending on the word.

Words with 髄

骨髄

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Updated: 2026-08-28