Friend 友
tomo1 character4 strokes
友 (tomo) means friend: a companion who shares your feelings, helps you when needed and enjoys good times with you.
Free practice sheet
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Meaning 意味
What 友 means
The Japanese kanji for friend, read tomo.
友 means a friend. It describes companions who understand each other, help each other and have fun together.
When people write it in Japan. People write 友 as one strong character to celebrate memories with friends or to show how much they value the people close to them.
Japanese children learn this kanji in 2nd grade.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 友
Three things to watch
- In 友, the 1st stroke is the horizontal line and the left sweep is the 2nd stroke. This is the reverse of the order in 右, so take care.
- Start the 2nd stroke of 友, the left sweep, above the horizontal line. Sweep it long and freely down to the left.
- Write the final right sweep of 又 at the bottom big and long, to balance the left sweep. As a single character, it goes large in the center of the sheet.
Stroke order
Follow the vermilion stroke, frame by frame.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
How to practice 練習
Trace first, then copy
- PrintPrint both pages at actual size, on US Letter or A4. Page 1 is the model. Page 2 is the tracing sheet.
- TraceTrace the outlines with a brush pen. Or lay thin hanshi paper over the page and trace with brush and ink.
- CopySet the model beside your paper and copy it stroke by stroke. Look at the model more than at your own paper.
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