千 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

千: thousand; thousands. JLPT N5; 3 strokes.

Readings

On readings

セン

Kun readings

ち

Romaji

sen, chi

Study notes

千 is the number one thousand.

On reading: セン in 千 (せん, one thousand), 千円 (せんえん, one thousand yen), 千円札 (せんえんさつ, one thousand yen bill), 千秋楽 (せんしゅうらく, last day of a sumo tournament or a series of performances). After some numbers the sound changes: 三千 (さんぜん, three thousand), 八千 (はっせん, eight thousand).

Kun reading: ち, in 千代 (ちよ, one thousand years, eternity), 千鳥 (ちどり, plover), 千切る (ちぎる, to tear to pieces) and in proper names such as 千葉 (ちば, Chiba).

Remember: 'one thousand' is simply said せん; 一千 (いっせん) appears in formal contexts and in amounts, such as 一千万 (いっせんまん, ten million).

Example words

• 千円 (せんえん) — one thousand yen
• 千鳥 (ちどり) — plover; staggered pattern

Example sentences

千円あります。

sen-en arimasu.

I have one thousand yen.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.