Meaning & readings

flag, banner, standard

On’yomi
Kun’yomi はた

Origin

This character most likely combines two parts: the left side shows a flag or banner hanging from a pole, while the right side is a phonetic component that hints at pronunciation. The visual arrangement of the strokes resembles cloth or fabric fluttering, which captures the basic idea of a flag or banner waving in the wind. Over time, the picturesque elements became more stylized into the formal written character, but the connection to cloth and the pole holding it remained central to the character's meaning.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.

14 strokes

Components

This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (旗).

  • meaning part

Common words

  • 旗手 きしゅ standard-bearer; flag-bearer
  • 旗色 はたいろ situation; outlook
  • 校旗 こうき school flag
  • 国旗 こっき national flag
  • 反旗 はんき standard of revolt; banner of rebellion
  • 旗印 はたじるし design (on a banner); emblem (on a flag)
  • 赤旗 あかはた red flag
  • 旗揚げ はたあげ raising an army; raising a banner

Reference

Strokes
14
Kangxi radical
70
Grade
Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#1190 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+065D7