Compassion 思いやり
omoiyari4 characters16 strokes
思いやり (omoiyari) means compassion: imagining another person's feelings and situation as if they were your own, and treating them kindly.
Free practice sheet
Print at 100%, actual size. Enter your email once and every free sheet downloads right away.
Meaning 意味
What 思いやり means
The Japanese word for compassion, written in kanji and kana, read omoiyari.
思いやり is the heart that thinks about someone else's feelings and situation as if they were your own, and tries to be kind.
It is written with one kanji, 思 (think), followed by three hiragana. The flowing kana make the word look soft and warm, which suits its gentle meaning.
When people write it in Japan. People in Japan write 思いやり for pieces about kindness toward friends and family, and it makes a fine goal for the new year.
Japanese children learn this kanji in 2nd grade.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 思いやり
Three things to watch
- Write the kanji 思 large and firm. Keep the kana that follow, い, や and り, smaller and slender.
- In 思, make 田 on top a little small, and spread 心 (heart) at the bottom wide, as if it catches the upper part.
- In り, write the 1st stroke short and flick it up. Stretch the 2nd stroke long downward, then sweep it off to the lower left.
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.
Free for personal practice and classroom use. Please do not sell or re-post the files. Share a link to this page instead.
More free sheets
Heart & character
While the sets are on their way
The book is out now.
Japanese Calligraphy for Beginners takes you from holding the brush to writing whole words, step by step, in English. Every model inside was brushed by our teachers.
Starter Set, $72.99 with the book, brush, ink and paper: coming soon.