

Young Grass 若草
wakakusa2 characters17 strokes
若草 (wakakusa) means young grass: the soft, fresh green shoots of spring, full of the energy to keep growing.
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Meaning 意味
What 若草 means
The Japanese word for Young Grass, written with 2 kanji and read wakakusa.
Wakakusa is grass that has just sprouted in spring, soft and fresh. It also stands for the power to grow that is still to come.
When people write it in Japan. Wakakusa is a common word for spring pieces and for practice at the start of a new school year.
Japanese children know every kanji here by 6th grade.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 若草
Three things to watch
- Both 若 and 草 have the grass radical at the top (kusakanmuri). Write it wide, so it sits over the part below.
- In 若, after the grass radical, start with the sweep down to the left (ノ). This is the same stroke order as in 右.
- In 草, bring the last vertical stroke straight down the center of the character, long and steady.
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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