Components

斗 means 'Big Dipper'

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Strokes : 4    Radical number: 68    Frequency: 2010   JLPT: N1    Usefulness: 5    Study set: 5-38    Grade: 8   Intermediate lesson: -    Beginner lesson: -   Begins 10 words   Used in 55 words   Used in 691 names   Component in 27 kanji (4 Jōyō)
Jōyō (常用)
On
   ト
On    トウ
Name    ます
A Joy o' Kanji essay is available for 斗 - click the badge to download
The dipper kanji helps you hold your liquor! That is, its core meaning is "dipper," a device to scoop saké. (It means "dipper" in the constellation sense, too!) Using 斗, we can also measure large quantities of that saké. By studying 斗, we find out about noshi. And that's not all! The 斗 shape is a ryakuji (a simplified form of more complex kanji), as well as a radical.
The essay is also included in the following Thematic Bundles
04
Steeped in Saké
酌 升 斗 杯
Just one kanji in this bundle includes a "saké" radical (oddly enough!), but saké flows liberally through all four essays, which collectively soak you in Japanese drinking culture. They showcase containers of alcohol, from tiny "choko" cups and wooden "masu" boxes to barrels of saké, and ways of measuring these liquids. The essays focus on the role of alcohol in celebrations (especially at the new year) and in rituals to honor the dead. Japanese expectations around drinking become clear, including the importance of refilling another person's glass and even the ritual of exchanging cups. Kanpai!
10
Be Square
升 井 坪 斗
As these essays amply demonstrate, squares delineate much of life in Japan. Two tatami mats placed side by side form a square, and those squares (坪) constitute units of measurements, whether of floor space or land area. Ceilings traditionally have lattice patterns. Students write in squares on grid paper. People drink saké from wooden masu boxes. Japanese wells are typically square, and the shape of a well ledge has inspired all kinds of hashtag-like designs from famous corporate logos to family crests to fabric patterns. These essays will have you thinking inside the box!
Essay 1633 on 斗 (dipper; "dots and cross" radical) covers this radical, without which we couldn't write great-looking words such as 科料 (かりょう: minor fine).
⿻  ⿱   dot   dot   ten  
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In the most useful 10,000 words in Japanese, 斗 is used 3 times, read 1 way.
Across all words in Japanese, 斗 is used 37 times, read 2 ways (with 1 variation).
Showing:
ト : 32 words FIND ALL
1
noun
a great authority  (see also: 泰山北斗; abbreviation)
(click the word for examples and links)
トウ : 3 words FIND ALL
0
noun
fighting spirit
(click the word to view an additional 1 form, examples and links)
ます: 2 words. FIND ALL
2 0
Most common form:
noun
1. measuring container; measure
2. box (seating at a theatre, etc.)
(click the word to view an additional 2 meanings and 5 forms, examples and links)
An additional 18 less common words include 斗 but the reading has not yet been categorized.
Henshall: 1633  Joy o' Kanji : 1633  Key to Kanji:

Cascading kanji view

ト    Big Dipper   
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ジュウ   ジッ   と    とお ten   
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イチ   イツ   ひと    ひと- one   
stick   
dot   
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