字(じ)

じ

noun

letter, character

language communication

1. letter, character, writing

A written symbol representing a sound or meaning, including hiragana, katakana, kanji, and letters from other writing systems.

字(じ)が読(よ)めない。

I can't read the characters.

この字(じ)は何(なん)と読(よ)みますか。

How do you read this character?

先生(せんせい)の字(じ)はきれいで読(よ)みやすい。

The teacher's handwriting is neat and easy to read.

もっと大(おお)きい字(じ)で書(か)いてください。小(ちい)さいと読(よ)めません。

Please write in bigger characters. I can't read them if they're small.

日本語(にほんご)の字(じ)は難(むずか)しいと思(おも)っていたが、毎日(まいにち)勉強(べんきょう)したら、だんだん読(よ)めるようになった。

I used to think Japanese characters were hard, but after studying every day, I gradually became able to read them.

字(じ) refers to written characters of any type.

Common collocations

字(じ)を書(か)く: to write characters
字(じ)を読(よ)む: to read characters
字(じ)が上手(じょうず)/下手(へた): good/bad handwriting
漢字(かんじ): Chinese characters (kanji)
ローマ字(じ): Roman letters

Related words

文字(もじ): character, letter (more formal)
ひらがな: hiragana
カタカナ: katakana
漢字(かんじ): kanji

Note: When talking about handwriting quality, 字(じ) often refers to how nicely someone writes.

Related Words

Compare: 文字(もじ) (character, letter (more formal))

Related: 漢字(かんじ) (kanji)

Related: ローマ字(じ) (Roman letters)

Related: 平仮名(ひらがな) (hiragana)

Related: 片仮名(かたかな) (katakana)

basic

Added 2026.1.9 21:16 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:29

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