Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 1
三 three
- Meaning
- three
- On reading
- サン
- Kun reading
- みっ(つ)
Memory hook
Three stacked lines. This is where the easy pattern stops. サン in compounds and on its own, みっ(つ) when you are counting things.
Words that use 三
三つ
みっつ
three things
三月
さんがつ
March
How to write 三
Stroke order · 3 strokes
1
2
3
- 1. The horizontal across the top.
- 2. The horizontal across the middle.
- 3. The horizontal across the bottom.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
三 is taught on day 1 of the kanji course, alongside 一 二, with two writing passes and a short quiz.