This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

Readings

Kana: キュウ、たま
Romaji: kyū, tama
Kana
Romaji

Name Reading

Kana:
Romaji: ku
Kana
Romaji

Meanings

ball, sphere

Stroke Diagram

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Kanji Info

Stroke Count:  11
Radical Number:  96
Frequency:  302
Grade:  3
Skip Pattern:  1-4-7
Korean Reading:  gu
Chinese Reading:  qiu2
Unicode:  7403
JIS:  3565

Indexes

Halpern Index: 969
Nelson Index: 2941
New Nelson Index: 3643
Spahn Hadamitzky Index: 4f7.2
Four Corner Index: 1313.2
Guide to Remembering Index: 257
Gakken Index: 379
Japanese Names Index: 1359
Daikanwanjiten Index: 21011
Daikanwanjiten Index and Page: 7.0923
Remembering the kanji Index: 935
Busy People Index: 3.7
Kanji Flashcards Index: 736
Kodansha Compact Index: 1319
Read Writing Kanji Third Index: 275
Kanji in Context Index: 935
1999 Kanji Learners Index: 658
2013 Kanji Learners Index: 880
French Remembering the Kanji Index: 944
Remembering the Kanji 6th Index: 1005
Essential Kanji Index: 845
Kodansha Kanji Index: 1219
Roo 2001 Kanji Index: 3142
Read Writing the Kanji Index: 188
Tuttle Kanji Cards Index: 370

Words

(たま)
ball; sphere; globe; orb; bead (of sweat, dew, etc.); drop; droplet; ball (in sports); pile (of noodles, etc.); bullet; bulb (i.e. a light bulb); lens (of glasses, etc.); bead (of an abacus); ball (i.e. a testicle); gem; jewel (esp. spherical; sometimes used figuratively); pearl; female entertainer (e.g. a geisha); person (when commenting on their nature); character; item, funds or person used as part of a plot; egg; coin; precious; beautiful; excellent
(きゅう)
sphere; counter for balls
地球 (ちきゅう)
the earth; the globe
球場 (きゅうじょう)
baseball stadium
投球 (とうきゅう)
pitching; throwing a ball; bowling (in cricket); pitched ball
(まり)
ball (for sport, games, etc.); kemari; type of football played by courtiers in ancient Japan
野球 (やきゅう)
baseball
球団 (きゅうだん)
baseball team
卓球 (たっきゅう)
table tennis; ping-pong
球技 (きゅうぎ)
ball game (e.g. baseball, tennis, soccer)
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