Kanji N1

衰: decline, wane, weaken

衰 is a JLPT N1 kanji meaning decline, wane, weaken, written with 10 strokes. It is read スイ (on) and おとろえる (kun). It is one of the jōyō kanji taught in secondary school. You will see it in 老衰 (ろうすい, senility) and 衰える (おとろえる, to become weak).

衰

Meanings

  • decline
  • wane
  • weaken
Strokes10
JLPT levelN1
School gradeSecondary school
Frequency#1432 of 2,500

On reading · Kun reading

On reading
  • スイ

On'yomi: from Chinese, written in katakana. Used in compound words.

Kun reading
  • おとろえる

Kun'yomi: native Japanese, in hiragana. The faint part is the okurigana, written in kana after the kanji.

Watch the stroke order

Every stroke in order, the live one in vermilion. Replay as often as you like.

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Now draw it

Trace each stroke in order. Wrong direction or wrong order gets flagged right away.

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Your turn: draw stroke 1 of 10. Start at the dot.

Common words with 衰

The most useful words written with it, easiest first. Every other kanji in them opens its own page.

  • 老衰ろうすい

    senility; senile decay; infirmity (through age)

    JLPT N1
  • 衰えるおとろえる

    to become weak; to decline; to wear; to abate

    JLPT N1
  • 衰退すいたい

    decline; degeneration; decay; waning; ebbing

  • 衰えおとろえ

    weakening; emaciation; decline

  • 衰弱すいじゃく

    weakness; debility; breakdown; prostration

  • 盛衰せいすい

    rise and fall; ups and downs; welfare

  • 減衰げんすい

    attenuation; damping; decay

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Stroke order from KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0. Readings, meanings and words from KANJIDIC2 and JMdict, names from JMnedict, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata, CC0. JLPT lists after Jonathan Waller (tanos.co.uk), CC BY.