Explore 史 in words about the past and the evidence used to study it.

The idea

史 has five strokes and the on-reading し in 歴史（れきし）, 日本史（にほんし） and 史料（しりょう）. Learn each complete word; follow the linked diagram to write the character.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingExample
歴史れきしI study Japanese history.
世界史せかいしI read a book on world history.
史料しりょうThe museum preserves historical sources.
日本史にほんしMy older sister is studying Japanese history at university.

Examples

  • 日本にほんの歴史れきしを勉強べんきょうしています。I study Japanese history.
  • この町まちの歴史れきしを学まなびました。We learned about the history of this town.
  • 世界史せかいしの本ほんを読よみました。I read a book on world history.
  • 博物館はくぶつかんは史料しりょうを保存ほぞんしています。The museum preserves historical sources.
  • 姉あねは大学だいがくで日本史にほんしを勉強べんきょうしています。My older sister is studying Japanese history at university.
  • 医学いがくの歴史れきしを調しらべました。I looked up the history of medicine.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

歴史 means history; 史料 means historical source material. Do not confuse 史 with the similar-looking 使, which has a person component on the left.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 歴史 in hiragana.

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    れきし

    歴史 is れきし: the word for history. The first part is れき, followed by し.

  2. Write the reading of 史料 in hiragana.

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    しりょう

    史料 is しりょう: historical source material. The long vowel in りょう matters.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 日本＿（にほんし）［史／使］.

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    史

    史 completes 日本史（にほんし）, Japanese history. 使 is a different character.

Use it today

Write 史 in stroke order, then cover the readings and make a sentence with 歴史 or 史料.