不 — not / un-

Grade 4ふ, ぶ

Radical ⼀ · radical 1 The building block this kanji is filed under

不 (readings: ふ, ぶ; Japanese kanji) means “not / un-”. It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 不安 (anxiety / unease).

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What does 不 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	不
Meaning	not / un-
Readings	ふ, ぶ
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	不安 (anxiety / unease)

How to read 不

不 is read ふ or ぶ depending on the word.

Words with 不

不便ふべんbất tiện
不足ふそくthiếu hụt
不安bất an
不朽bất hủ

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Read this character in a real sentence

🚆 新路線開通、地域の未来をつなぐ Grade 6
🏪 社会を支えるコンビニの存在 Grade 6

Updated: 2026-08-09