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紫 means 'purple'

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Strokes : 12    Frequency: 1459   JLPT: N1    Usefulness: 5    Study set: 5-22    Grade: 8   Intermediate lesson: -    Beginner lesson: -   Begins 60 words   Used in 88 words   Used in 733 names   Not used as a component
Jōyō (常用)
Common readings
On
   シ
Kun
   むらさき purple
Additional readings
Name    さい   ゆかり
Notes
A Joy o' Kanji essay is available for 紫 - click the badge to download
Purple (紫) has special meaning in Japan. An old name for one of the four major islands contains 紫. The 'Tale of Genji' author chose an alias that included 紫. Kyoto and Edo each had a shade of purple named after them, thanks to a purple plant dye. Purple is associated with various types of elites in Japan. And some Japanese perceive soy sauce and tobacco smoke as purple!
View in the essay collection    All Joy o' Kanji essays  
The essay is also included in the following Thematic Bundles
02
I’ve Got the Blues
紺 紫 藍 瑠
A deep dive into dyeing gives you the blues in the best of ways, also illuminating the clothing of commoners versus that of the elites and priests. Speaking of priests, three of the essays connect to Buddhism. More unexpectedly, sea creatures, achievement medals, the colors of the rainbow, birds, gems, and vegetables all prove to be common ground. See which color the Japanese associate with uniforms and which one they think of when seeing soy sauce and cigarette smoke.
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Components
⿱  此 this  糸 thread  
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Most useful words by reading
In the most useful 10,000 words in Japanese, 紫 is used 4 times, read 2 ways.
Across all words in Japanese, 紫 is used 75 times, read 2 ways (with 2 variations).
Showing:
シ : 36 words FIND ALL
し が い せ ん 0
noun
ultra-violet rays
(click the word for examples and links)
シ (read as じ) : 3 words FIND ALL
noun
inflorescence of shiso (used as a sashimi garnish)  (see also: 紫蘇)
(click the word for examples and links)
むらさき : 35 words FIND ALL
む ら さ き 2
noun
1. purple; violet
2. Lithospermum erythrorhizon (species of gromwell)  (often written with kana only)
(click the word to view an additional 1 meaning, examples and links)
ゆかり: 1 word. FIND ALL
noun
rice sprinkled with red perilla  (food term)
(click the word to view an additional 2 forms, examples and links)
An additional 13 less common words include 紫 but the reading has not yet been categorized.
Quick links
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More information
Wiktionary ⇗ | Unicode.org ⇗ | Google Japan ⇗ | Hanziyuan etymology ⇗
Additional data
Henshall: 1320  Joy o' Kanji : 1320  Key to Kanji: - 

Cascading kanji view

紫
シ   むらさき purple   
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此
シ   これ    この this   ここ here   
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止
シ   とめる to stop   とまる to stop   
匕
さじ spoon   
糸
シ   いと thread   
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