Explore 悲 through words for sadness and tragedy. Learn each reading with a whole word and a useful context.
The idea
悲 has 12 strokes. 悲しい（かなしい） is an i-adjective; 悲しむ（かなしむ） is a verb and 悲しみ（かなしみ） a noun. 悲劇（ひげき） uses the reading ひ in a compound.
Examples
- 今日は悲しいです。I feel sad today.
- その話は悲しいです。That story is sad.
- 彼女は友達を失って悲しんでいます。She is grieving the loss of her friend.
- 悲しみを友達に話しました。I shared my sadness with a friend.
- 私たちは劇場で悲劇を見ました。We watched a tragedy at the theatre.
- みんながその知らせを悲しみました。Everyone was saddened by the news.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not read every 悲 as かな: 悲劇 is ひげき. 悲しい describes a feeling or a sad thing, while 悲しむ describes grieving.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 悲しい in hiragana.
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かなしい
悲しい is かなしい, the i-adjective meaning sad.
Write the reading of 悲劇 in hiragana.
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ひげき
悲劇 is ひげき, a compound meaning tragedy.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿しみ（かなしみ）［悲／非］.
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悲
悲 completes 悲しみ（かなしみ）, the noun for sadness.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 悲しい in hiragana.
Write the reading of 悲劇 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: ＿しみ（かなしみ）［悲／非］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 悲 following the linked stroke diagram. Cover the readings, read 悲しい and 悲劇, then make a sentence with one.