Meet 太 in everyday words for thickness, weight and the sun. Learn each reading with its whole word.

The idea

太 has four strokes; follow the linked diagram. 太い（ふとい） is an i-adjective, 太る（ふとる） a verb, and 太陽（たいよう） means the sun.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
太いふといThis tree has a thick trunk.
太るふとるI gained a little weight over the holidays.
太陽たいようThe sun rises in the east.

Examples

  • この木きは幹みきが太ふといです。This tree has a thick trunk.
  • 太ふとい線せんを引ひいてください。Please draw a thick line.
  • この縄なわはあの縄なわより太ふといです。This rope is thicker than that one.
  • 休やすみの間あいだに少すこし太ふとりました。I gained a little weight over the holidays.
  • 太陽たいようは東ひがしから昇のぼります。The sun rises in the east.
  • 今日きょうの太陽たいようは明あかるく輝かがやいています。The sun is shining brightly today.

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

Watch out

太い describes thickness or girth, while 太る means to gain weight. Do not confuse 太 with 大: 太 has an extra dot.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 太い in hiragana.

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    ふとい

    太い is ふとい: the tree has a thick trunk. The final い belongs to the adjective.

  2. Write the reading of 太陽 in hiragana.

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    たいよう

    太陽 is たいよう: the sun rises in the east. Learn this reading as a whole compound.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿る（ふとる）［太／大］.

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    太

    太 completes 太る, ふとる, to gain weight. The dot distinguishes it from 大.

Use it today

Write 太 using the diagram, then cover the table and read 太い and 太陽. Make a sentence with one of them.