筆 — writing brush

Grade 3ひつ, ふで

Radical ⽵ · radical 118 The building block this kanji is filed under

筆 (readings: ひつ, ふで; Japanese kanji) means “writing brush”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 鉛筆 (pencil).

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What does 筆 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	筆
Meaning	writing brush
Readings	ひつ, ふで
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	鉛筆 (pencil)

How to read 筆

筆 is read ひつ or ふで depending on the word.

Words with 筆

鉛筆bút chì
執筆chấp bút, viết

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Updated: 2026-08-09