Jisho

×

5 strokes
Radical:
mouth, opening
Parts:
seduce, call, send for, wear, put on, ride in, buy, eat, drink, catch (cold)
Kun:
め.す
On:
ショウ
Jōyō kanji, taught in junior high
JLPT level N2
1540 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 招請 【ショウセイ】 invitation
  • 召集 【ショウシュウ】 convening, calling together (e.g. parliament), call-up (for military service)

Kun reading compounds

  • 召す 【めす】 to call, to summon, to send for, to invite, to eat, to drink, to put on, to wear, to buy, to purchase, to take (a bath), to ride, to get in (a vehicle), to take, to catch (a cold), to put on (years), to get old, to strike one's fancy, to please one, to do, to commit seppuku, indicates respect

Readings

Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
zhao4, shao4, zhao1
Korean:
so, jo

Spanish

  • seducir
  • citar
  • emplazar
  • comer
  • beber

Portuguese

  • seduzir
  • chamada
  • mandar chamar
  • usar
  • vestir
  • cavalgar em
  • pechinchar
  • comer
  • beber

French

  • faire venir à soi
  • appeler
  • inviter
  • prendre (bain)
  • porter (vêtements)
  • acheter
  • conduire
  • boire
  • manger
  • attraper (froid)
1387 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
1473 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
668 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
1115 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
396 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
152 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
995 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
1032 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
1691 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
279 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
2494 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1261 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1727 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
87 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
3241 Morohashi
2001 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
695 New Nelson (John Haig)
86 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
90 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
1043 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
3577 2001 Kanji
2f3.3 The Kanji Dictionary
2-2-3 SKIP code
1760.2 Four corner code
1-30-04 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
53ec Unicode hex code

使

8 strokes
Radical:
man, human 人 (亻)
Parts:
use, send on a mission, order, messenger, envoy, ambassador, cause
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 3
JLPT level N4
219 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 使 【シ】 messenger, police and judicial chief (Heian and Kamakura periods), klesha (polluting thoughts such as greed, hatred and delusion, which result in suffering)
  • 使者 【シシャ】 messenger, envoy, emissary
  • 特使 【トクシ】 special envoy
  • 実力行使 【ジツリョクコウシ】 use of force

Kun reading compounds

  • 使う 【つかう】 to use (a tool, method, etc.), to make use of, to put to use, to use (a person, animal, puppet, etc.), to employ, to handle, to manage, to manipulate, to use (time, money, etc.), to spend, to consume, to use (language), to speak
  • 使い 【つかい】 errand, mission, going on an errand, messenger, bearer, errand boy, errand girl, familiar spirit, use, usage, user, trainer, tamer, handler, charmer
  • 使い方 【つかいかた】 way of using (something), way to use, how to use, usage, use, way of handling (employees, subordinates, etc.), way of treating, treatment, management
  • オズの魔法使い 【オズのまほうつかい】 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (novel by L. F. Baum, 1900), The Wizard of Oz (film, 1939)
  • 春の使い 【はるのつかい】 Japanese bush warbler, messenger of spring

Readings

Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
shi3, shi4
Korean:
sa

Spanish

  • usar
  • manejar
  • emplear

Portuguese

  • Uso
  • usar

French

  • utiliser
224 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade)
303 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot)
287 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
226 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
432 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
210 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
117 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
556 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
2.3 Japanese for Busy People
331 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
331 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
199 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
89 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
100 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
68 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
72 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
999 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
573 Morohashi
90 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
196 New Nelson (John Haig)
990 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
1065 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
239 The Kanji Way to Japanese Language Power (Dale Crowley)
298 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
2166 2001 Kanji
2a6.2 The Kanji Dictionary
1-2-6 SKIP code
2520.6 Four corner code
1-27-40 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
4f7f Unicode hex code