父 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

父: father; dad. JLPT N5; 4 strokes.

Readings

On readings

フ

Kun readings

ちち

Romaji

fu, chichi

Study notes

父 means 'father'.

On reading: フ appears in 祖父 (そふ, grandfather), 父母 (ふぼ, parents), 父兄 (ふけい, parents of students), 義父 (ぎふ, father-in-law; stepfather) and, voiced in ぷ, in 神父 (しんぷ, Catholic priest).

Kun reading: ちち, 'father': it is used for one's own father when speaking with others (父は会社員です, my father is an office worker). Also 父親 (ちちおや, father) and 父の日 (ちちのひ, Father's Day).

Special readings: お父さん (おとうさん, dad; his father), 叔父 and 伯父 (おじ, uncle) and お祖父さん (おじいさん, grandfather) are read as whole words.

Remember: for one's own father, speaking with others, one uses 父 (ちち); for the father of others, or addressing one's own, お父さん (おとうさん).

Example words

• お父さん (おとうさん) — father; dad (polite)
• 祖父 (そふ) — grandfather
• 父 (ちち) — father

Example sentences

父は毎朝早く起きます。

chichi wa maiasa hayaku okimasu.

My father gets up early every morning.

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.