Meaning & readings

leg, foot, be sufficient, counter for pairs of footwear

On’yomi ソク
Kun’yomi あし、た.りる、た.る、た.す
Nanori あ、あす、おす、たらし

Origin

This character most likely combines two visual elements to represent the idea of a foot or leg. The top part shows an opening or space, while the bottom part depicts multiple lines suggesting the toes or the structure of a foot. Together, these components create a picture of a foot with its distinct parts, which is why the character came to mean "leg" and "foot." The extended meaning of "be sufficient" developed naturally from the idea of having enough — as if your feet can carry you where you need to go, you have what you need.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

7 strokes

Components

  • meaning part top
  • meaning part bottom

Common words

  • 一足 いっそく a pair (of shoes or socks)
  • 右足 みぎあし right foot
  • 遠足 えんそく school trip; field trip
  • 左足 ひだりあし left foot
  • 手足 てあし hands and feet; limbs
  • 充足 じゅうそく sufficiency
  • 出足 であし turnout (of people)
  • 俊足 しゅんそく swiftness of foot; fast runner

Reference

Strokes
7
Kangxi radical
157
Grade
Grade 1 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#343 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 4
Unicode
U+08DB3