The world’s fewest: A collection of one-stroke kanji. Learn them in a quiz format!
Kanji we’re familiar with in everyday life.
Among them, we’ve focused on the world’s simplest characters—those made with just one stroke.
As you’re reading this article, which kanji come to mind?
In addition to the kanji you commonly see, there are plenty of rare ones you hardly ever encounter.
We’ve put it together in a quiz format, so feel free to have fun while answering!
It might come in handy when you want to pose slightly nerdy questions, or you may find it useful somewhere down the line!
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The world’s fewest: A collection of one-stroke kanji. Learn them in a quiz format!
The character ‘乁’ does not form a standard Japanese word by itself. It is a rare or archaic Chinese character, or a decorative symbol, and does not have a direct English translation.
- i
- topic marker 'wa'; is/as for
- and/or; such as; or (used to list examples)
See the answer
i
It has the meanings “to flow” and “to transfer.” Since it isn’t included in the Kanji Kentei allocations and also can’t be used in given names, it’s a character you rarely encounter.
vertical hook
- jay
- jo
- butt
See the answer
butt
It means a curved tool used for catching or hooking things. This character, which can also be read as “kagi” or “hanebō,” is not included in the Kanji Proficiency Test. It kind of looks like a letter of the alphabet, doesn’t it?
slash
- of
- hetsu
- Hey
See the answer
hetsu
This one ends up looking like the katakana character “ノ.” It seems to carry the meaning of a leftward sweep. It can also be read as “hechi.” Kanji really are profound, aren’t they?
The character shown is a variant/abbreviated form often used as a radical or shorthand in calligraphy, resembling the lower part of the kanji for “person” or used as a component. It does not have a standalone English translation.
- Oof
- woof
- Thanks for your hard work.
See the answer
Thanks for your hard work.
Also read as “itsu,” “in,” and “on.” It is said to share the same meaning as “otsu” and to carry the nuance of ‘to hide,’ as in the character “隠.”
In conclusion
I introduced the kanji with the fewest strokes in the world.
Since they only have one stroke, there were inevitably not many of them, and many were characters you don’t usually see.
I learned a lot myself.
I’d be happy if this could serve as a small opportunity for you to appreciate the depth of kanji.