Meaning & readings

shift, move, change, drift, catch (cold, fire), pass into

On’yomi
Kun’yomi うつ.る、うつ.す

Origin

The character combines the radical 禾, which refers to grain or crops, with on the right as a sound hint for pronunciation. The left component suggests the original meaning of shifting or moving crops from one place to another, such as transplanting seedlings in a field. Over time, the meaning expanded from this concrete agricultural image to the more general sense of moving or changing anything. The right component doesn't contribute to the meaning but simply tells readers roughly how to pronounce the character.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

11 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 移す うつす to transfer (to a different place, group, etc.); to change
  • 移る うつる to move (to another place or state); to change (e.g. of state, affiliation, scenery, etc.)
  • 移管 いかん transfer of control
  • 移行 いこう transition; changeover
  • 移住 いじゅう migration; move
  • 移植 いしょく transplanting (a plant); transplant
  • 移籍 いせき transfer (of one's name into another family register)
  • 移送 いそう transfer; transport

Reference

Strokes
11
Kangxi radical
115
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#448 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+079FB