Meaning & readings
left
On’yomi サ、シャ
Kun’yomi ひだり
Nanori そ
Origin
This character most likely began as a picture of a hand with the thumb and fingers extended, representing the left hand. Over time, the strokes simplified and stylized into the current form. Since the left hand is used as a natural reference point for direction, the character came to mean "left." The shape you see today still loosely echoes that original hand-like form, though it's been simplified through centuries of writing.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (左).
Common words
- 左右 さゆう left and right; right and left
- 左記 さき undermentioned (statement); the following
- 左手 ひだりて left hand
- 左上 ひだりうえ upper left
- 左折 させつ turning to the left; left turn
- 左遷 させん demotion; relegation
- 左前 ひだりまえ wearing a kimono with the right side over the left (normally used only for the dead)
- 左足 ひだりあし left foot
Reference
- Strokes
- 5
- Kangxi radical
- 48
- Grade
- Grade 1 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #630 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 4
- Unicode
- U+05DE6